Released on Epitaph in 1995, About Time is Pennywise’s third album and probably the one where the Hermosa Beach quartet hits top gear. Coming out of the surf and skate scene of California’s South Bay, the band pushes its melodic, athletic punk to the limit, music built for skate ramps and sweat soaked shows. Sung by Jim Lindberg, driven by Fletcher Dragge’s huge guitar and Jason Thirsk’s bass, backed by Byron McMackin’s drums, the record breathes the raw energy of a tight crew that plays fast, loud and without detour, true to a fiercely self reliant ethic.
The skate punk engine
From « Peaceful Day » the tone is set: quick tempos, springing riffs and choruses made for yelling along with a fist in the air. « Same Old Story » remains one of the band’s peaks, an unstoppable melodic charge that sums up its whole method and would become a live classic. The drums pound relentlessly and give the album the feel of an all out sprint from first track to last.
There is no ornament here and no needless dead weight. Every track aims for maximum impact, with that distinctly Californian mix of rage and singable hooks that made the Epitaph name and a whole generation of neighboring bands.
Fighting optimism
Beneath the energy, Pennywise pushes a message of endurance and personal responsibility. The lyrics talk about holding firm, never giving up and facing hardship rather than bowing to it, yet never tip into preaching. That street level philosophy, direct and willed, lends the record a particular warmth and uprightness.
This is a long way from the nihilism sometimes tied to punk: About Time prefers the raised fist to the world weary pose, and that almost guileless sincerity is a big part of its appeal and explains its audience’s lasting loyalty.
A pivotal moment
About Time captures the high point of a certain carefree spirit in the band’s story. Soon after its release, in 1996, bassist and cornerstone Jason Thirsk passed away, which gives the record a testimonial weight in hindsight, that of a lineup still intact and at the top of its form, before everything changed.
For many skate punk fans the album stands as a benchmark of the era, alongside the big names of the 1990s Californian scene, and one of the peaks of an already solid catalogue.
Heard today, About Time has lost none of its vitality or its bite. It is an honest, generous, physical record with no other aim than to move you, fire you up and make you want to stay on your feet. For anyone chasing the essence of Californian melodic punk, it makes an ideal entry point and a pleasure that holds up over repeated listens.
