Pennywise - Straight Ahead • CDs • Vinyl Records • LPs • Music Albums

to oppose. Bristling with righteous ire, the tracks all but march in formation, with vocalist Jim Lindberg acting as drill sergeant as he barks out libertarian lines like "I'm gonna make it on my own/Dictator on a throne/Make my own philosophy/U.S. of me" ("My Own Country"). To their credit, Pennywise infuse their lyrics with a sense of hope rare in Southern Cali punk, urging discouraged kids, "When you feel yourself going down/Pick yourself up off the ground" ("Still Can Be Great"). But too often these messages are lost in a dense dogma pudding. Pennywise may still rock hard and fast, but their ham-fisted rhetoric is beginning to drag them down. (RS 816-817)

NEVA CHONIN