A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Here Comes Our Wave LP by The Black Pacific. Now six years after the release of Never Gonna Die, it really doesn’t seem like Pennywise plans on putting out a new album anytime soon – which is a terrible shame. Since they started in 1988, Pennywise was often regarded as the hard-grinding skate punk band seated comfortably at the punk rock head table alongside NOFX, Offspring, Green Day and Bad Religion but, whenever it seemed like a good time to have a new album out that would save the scene from itself, Pennywise was busy doing something else. As a result, the band has never really gotten its proper due and, at this point, it looks like they never will. Happily though, long-suffering, on-again-off-again Pennywise singer Jim Lindberg has elected to cut his losses and revive his “other” part-time project, The Black Pacific, for its first full-length album in over a decade – and it qualifies as the best album Lindberg has been part of in over a decade too.
After some trite dial twirling, Here Comes Out Wave opens with “I Think I’m Paranoid” and immediately captures listeners’ attention. Right away, the band launches into a pick scraping, hard charging assault that is the definition of melodic hardcore; drummer Alan Vega pushes limits and wastes no time as, for the first two minutes and forty-one seconds of the album’s running, the band illustrates why – while the might have been out of commission for over a decade – there is no dust on their shoulders or rust on their guitar strings. “Superhero” actually ups the energy levels from where the band began as Lindberg rifles through some classic movie titles (Less Than Zero wins mention, as does Citizen Kane) and blasts along unrelentingly before “No Fun” follows and redefines expectations of the song’s title (because – let’s be honest – everyone expects something Stooges-esque from that title) by tightening its grip on listeners and threatening to stifle them with ceaseless dark vibes.
The darkness finally relents with the rambling energy which powers “Here We Come” – the A-side’s closing cut. There, the band upholds the tempo and power they expressed on the songs which preceded it, but “Here We Come” augments the impressions that the band left previously in the album’s running by really focussing more on a skate punk cadence. The song grinds nicely using lean guitars and hard feelings in a manner which feels instantly familiar and, by the time it reaches the second verse, feels like it might have missed its’ calling as a really solid Pennywise cut – a sense which remains clear until the song crashes to an end a couple of minutes later.
Throughout the remainder of the B-side of Here Comes Our Wave, The Black Pacific just keeps blasting out ripping, skate-ready cuts pretty consistently (although “Float Away” does break character and features a far less bold or tactile presence). “It’s Gone” illustrates that the band’s energy reserves are definitely not the thing that’s missing from the song. The crunchy distortion and sunny disposition of “Won’t Let You Down” ensures that no fan of Pennywise will be disappointed by the song. The album’s title track beautifully illustrates just how much stamina the band proves they have in reserve, when they need it, and the clamor it offers as it closes the album will leave listeners feeling energized and wishing there was more left to experience from the album. Some listeners who run front-to-back with the album may curse if they didn’t realize that the needle was due to lift from the album, and so may hurriedly pick a cut (ANY cut) to put their needle back down on in order to keep the movement and power that The Black Pacific established on this album running. That’s just how good The Black Pacific plays; the album hooks listeners hard and early, and never lets them go. It is exactly what punk needs in the waning days of 2024 to build hope for what punk may hold in 2025. [Bill Adams]
Artist:
https://blackpacificband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/p/THE-BLACK-PACIFIC-100050557716546
https://www.instagram.com/blackpacificband
Album:
Here Comes Our Wave is out now. Buy it here, directly from Dine Alone Records.
