Never Gonna Die
I heard about the new Pennywise material in early 2017 when it was first brought up, here we are one year later and we have this. This being exactly what I wanted to hear from these guys. "Never Gonna Die" is the first single that was released in anticipation for the album, needless to say it got people ready to here some new Pennywise! I've personally had this specific track on repeat since it came out.
American Lies
I feel like I'm listening to a track off "Straight Ahead" or maybe "Land of the Free?" which feels good to say because "Straight Ahead" is one of my favorite records of all time. Very fast song, that guitar is getting absolutely shredded. Remember what I said about this being the perfect time for a Pennywise record? "Amercian Lies" is a great example of what I meant.
Keep Moving On
Positive message from this song, "stay strong and carry on". Sometimes that is all you can do, I love this track, very fast and melodic. Reminiscent of 90s era Pennywise which is really cool, this album is the posterchild for the fact that Punk Rock will never ever die.
Live While You Can
"I got a time bomb tickin' in my head, tickin' in my head" this song is catchy. Maybe even my favorite on the record. It is well written, and memorable, it was also released as a single along with some other songs that were put out in the weeks leading up to release day.
We Set Fire
Pennywise in it's simplest form, straight up melodic punk rock. I love it, this album is a treat for fans of old Pennywise, it must have took a few people by surprise that not much has changed about their sound. That is a big worry when old school bands put out new records, luckily that was not the case here.
She Said
Starting off with a new kind of sound this is a personal song, I'm assuming it is about a friend who is no longer with us, presented in fast melodic punk rock. I guess the underlying message in this song is to be nice always, you never really know what someone is going through or who may need a friend in this world, it could be so easy to save someone's life.
Can't Be Ignored
I will leave the meaning of this song up to your personal belief, but I perceive it as a song about how/why wars and senseless violence start. This track highlights things like greed, and fighting for "selfish gain". Which in our society is a very common happening, sadly. "Can't Be Ignored" brings up these points and are so accurate doing it.
Goodbye Bad Times
I like this song because it introduces something a bit new, the use of a voice effect, and a pretty good use of one at that. It is a bit on unusual, only because I was not really expecting that from this record. Other than that the song is business as usual, and that's fine by me. I am really impressed that Pennywise sounds just as good (if not better) than they did 20 years ago!
A Little Hope
Is a little hope and positivity too much to ask for? These guys don't think so. "Can a get a little hope? Can I get a little trust?" Another social commentary on what is really going on today, as a freedoms may be taken away right in front of us, this song becomes all to real with lines like "walk out your front door today, you'll find something for you to hate".
Won't Give Up The Fight
Another song about war. It begs the question "prophet or prophecy" War boils down to greed and greed goes hand in hand with money and you know how the government loves its money. Everything that happens pertaining to war has a high chance of being related to greed or flat out stupidity as we have seen in recent years.
Can't Save You Now
Opening with audio clips of America's favorite person, Mr. Donald Trump and the ignorant things his has to say not only about himself but others as well, I believe having Trump in office spurred on all the politically charged punk bands such as Pennywise to make a comeback to address all the shit going on in this country at the moment.
All The Ways U Can Die
In my opinion this song hits really hard, so much melody packed into it, "when you're at the end of the rope, do you wanna give up hope" is a quote that stuck with me while writing this review, because it is very true. This song is very inspiring, with its quotable lyrics and hard hitting instrumental work, how could you not love it?
Listen
Pretty much this whole record is a call back to old Pennywise but I believe this track is as close as it gets, there isn't even much more to say about it other than that, it is fast, straight to the…
Something New
Final track off this record, one final political based song, the idea of this track is that we all believe in democracy, but where is democracy really getting us right now? "The funny thing about history is that it keeps repeating what we got wrong", very true. The whole reason for hsving a history class in school is to educate about the past and make sure that we don't let history repeat itself. So, when all else fails, we should make something new.
Conclusion: This was a really fun review to write, I didn't want to review a Pennywise record and not elaborate on the lyrics. It may be a little different but I had a lot of fun giving what I thought of the themes from this record, as we all will most likely have a different opinion on what "Never Gonna Die" talks about. I hope you enjoyed! Great work guys!
