Pennywise

Full Circle (Epitaph)
by Austin Nash

History is full of clergy and religious wars raising hell, but they would all agree that nobody threw it down like Christ. Such is the eternal parallel existence of Pennywise. I know this stooge that said “Boy, this band sounds like Green Day.” I kicked his ass good. Superfly’d him off the escalator in the Davis Square subway station, then stuffed him into the “newspapers only” can with the “have you seen me” photo of the “computer weenie formerly known as Doug” on it. Then I danced in a circle and touted a definitive victory over the enemy (bet you didn’t know my dog could talk) and began to think about the road home. Coming home is half the fight, just ask Napoleon.

You might think all of this sounds like crap, but let me tell you friend that crap don’t sound. Pennywise just finished their fourth album for Epitaph, arguably the hottest current label in rock. I love the word “rock.” In the music industry, it’s like “shit,” you can use it to describe just about anything. Full Circle is dedicated to the memory of Jason Thirsk, original founder, bass player, and friend of PW, who died in July of 1996. Full Circle is the next in a growing line of beautiful children in the Epitaph family (k##s m# #ss). It’s fast, aggressive Southern CA hardcore punk. Phew… glad I got that off my chest, its ass was getting too close to my face. Full Circle, for those of you who may be beginning the typical fourth-album bandspan doubt (I just made that up), is like smearing your favorite ice cream over your face again. Nothing wrong with it at all. Any day. Not only is Full Circle cool, but if you own it, you can boast to your friends that you support a band that is co-headlining the 1997 Warped Tour with Social Distortion and Helmet, and don’t forget they turned down a center stage at 1995’s Lollapalooza because of high ticket prices (they couldn’t afford their way in). Pennywise, Full Circle. Simply put: *All knobs to the right, faders to the North. (*Mike Roche, Kalamazoo MI, 1995)