Release Date: September 9, 2003
Reviewed by Sonya Sutherland
Pennywise has been around a long time and considering their catalogue of cds, From the Ashes isn’t the best they have put out. Pennywise seem to have calmed down a little and gotten more melodic and less fist pounding angry.
This album is definitely no Land of the Free or Full Circle. It’s a trade-off, a little less aggression and heavy guitar riffs for more politically charged lyrics and a greater appeal factor. Taking shots against the Bush Administration and the apathetic Americas mentality, its good to see some band pushing punk away from MTV’s reappointed definition that includes the likes of Good Charlotte. The strong points of From the Ashes is the drumming and more complex strong structure, the weak point is the pop-influenced guitar hooks, refrains and some of the vocals in general. Jim Lindberg sounds bored and flat on a lot of the tracks.
Overall, it’s a pretty good album compared to the rest of this years punk releases, although it is not old-school Pennywise its worth a listen to.
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