“Full Circle” is "Pennywise’s" latest release, and was inspired by the death of original bass guitarist, Jason Thirsk, in July of 1996. This album is a tribute to him and has given the band a chance to work their way full-circle from what they were before his death, into the band they are now.

The band is made up of Fletcher Dragge on guitar, Jimmy Lindberg doing the vocals, Byron McMackin on drums, and Randy Bradbury taking over on bass. They’re from Hermosa Beach, California and remain apart from the major label and MTV scene. Their seclusion is intentionally and seems to carry a certain sense of pride. They turned down an offer to play at Lollapalooza in 1995 because they felt the ticket price was too high. They remain loyal to the independent label, Epitaph, with their third full-length release.

“Pennywise” took their name from a character in "It", a Stephen King novel. From their bio, “’Pennywise’ is an evil clown in a Stephen King book that can look into people’s souls and become their worst fears. The only way to stop the intrusion is to confront that fear.” This seems to be what their music does -- it confronts their fears. Hopefully from confrontation comes relief.

The new album is hard-powered punk, yet it has a positive message to it. They talk about taking charge of your own life, standing up and doing something with it, instead of sitting back and taking everything in, waiting for things to come to you. Empowerment and the power to live life to its fullest is a common theme here.

“Get A Life” contains the strongest message of empowerment. It’s a “get off your lazy ass” kind of song. “But you don’t try/ Just sit there and whine/ About your decline.” The message here is not to sit back and complain---you need to get up and make things happen

“Society” is total energy. The song is depicts 'society' as an entity. It's a crushing force to the individual if you just go along with it, instead of standing up for yourself. “Fight Till You Die” is another “us against them” type of song. The message here is that life is a fight against the pressures of society -- unemployment, welfare, homelessness -- all the evils that exist. I’m not sure I buy into it all, but it creates a vivid image nonetheless.

“Broken” is one of my favorite songs on the CD:

“They’ll never get the best of me. I’m fighting back until I’m dead. Cause I’ve been used. Been abused. I’ve been bruised. I’ve been Broken And I’m backed up against the wall But my will to survive can’t be stolen And you can’t make me fall.”

There isn’t an ounce of apathy in this song. It’s hard-driving and rams its point straight on through, leaving no room for misinterpretation -- knock me down and I’ll get right up and fight back. The music on this track is incredible. The energy builds on that created by the lyrics, making an intenely powerful union. "Broken" is simply a fantastic cut!

One of the best things about this album is the incredible intensity in the lyrics. There is a great deal of emotion and feeling. It’s amazing. “Final Day” is a statement to departed band-member, Jason Thirsk. “You got a problem/ You don’t know it. . . It didn’t have to be this way you could have carried on/ Another chance for you to test your freedom/ Where did it go wrong?” The expression of pain and loss is out of sorts for a punk band.

“Bro Hymn Tribute” is a live reworking of a song that was originally created for some of the band’s friends who had died. They turned it into a send-off to Jason. “To our best friend/ Present past and beyond/ Even though you weren’t with us too long/ Your life is the most precious thing we could lose.” Jason’s brother, Justin Thirsk, adds vocals in this version. “Jason, my brother, this one’s for you.” They end the song with all the band members saying, “Jason, I love you.”

If you leave the CD on for about eight minutes after the end of “Bro Hymn Tribute” you’ll find a surprise bonus track. It’s a beautiful piano piece, and the orginal composition of what was just an intro on the band’s “Unknown Road.” It’s worth leaving on the player because it makes for a nice soothing balance to the fast-paced music before it. This album is turbo-charged and full-speed ahead. I’ve never seen “Pennywise” in concert, but I can imagine the show they must put on.

Music can take you through many emotions, but I never thought I’d be touched by punk music. “Full Circle” is an album that makes you think about your life and consider things that you may have otherwise overlooked -- at least it did that for me. My reaction surprised me, because I have never been a big fan of punk music. “Pennywise” has brought me to a new understanding of what can be accomplished. I also learned that you can miss out on some great music if you use categories as your sole judgement criteria. I definitely think “Full Circle” is an album to include in your collection. Just be sure to listen to the words while you're thrashing to the music.

"Me First And The Gimme Gimmes" appears to be a rag tag group of people from other unknown bands thrown together simply for the sake of making this album. There's Spike Slawson, the "ringmaster" of the group, Dave (just Dave), Joey Cape, Fat Mike, and Jake "Chris" Jackson. The stories behind the band members are curious in and of themselves. For example, Spike worked in the mailroom of Fat Wreck Chords and was asked by Fat Mike to come in and sing -- talk about a lucky break! For being such a strange mesh of people, "Me First" does an absolutely
wonderful job with this CD.

"Have A Ball" is entirely comprised of 'old favorite' rock tunes, but they've been pepped up and punked out. This isn't hardcore punk, just some happy, upbeat and fun punk rock. Oddly enough the original songs that have been covered here are, in general, not happy at all.

The set begins with "Danny's Song" which certainly sets the tone for what follows. Not only can you sing along, but you can't keep from dancing. Then there's "Leaving On A Jet Plane" which, with the recent death of John Denver, has gotten a lot of airplay lately. Trust me when I say you've never heard anything like the version on "Have a Ball".

"Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard" is next and while it's probably one of the songs that sounds closest to the original, the pace is absolutely frantic. Though it evokes the same feelings of the original version by Paul Simon, this is yet another song you just have to get up and dance to!

"Uptown Girl" is probably the least interesting song on the disc, but only because the original is already such a peppy tune. There wasn't a lot this bunch could do to make it sound different. It sounds more like Billy Joel on speed than a reworking of the song he made famous.

Then there's "I Am A Rock" which is very unlike what you might expect. . It's fast, the beat is slightly different, and it comes off almost confrontational, unlike the Simon & Garfunkle version we've come to know and love.

The most amazing song on "Have a Ball" is "Seasons In The Sun." Here's a question: when you first heard this song, did you ever imagine it would do well as a fast, furious, and somehow bouncy song? Or that you'd want to dance like a maniac while listening to it? Probably not. But this version really does and you really will! If you don't believe it, you need to get this cd and prove me wrong.

"Fire And Rain", the old James Taylor standby, is one of my favorite songs, so I was a bit concerned at how it would sound in this new and very different musical genre. As with every other song however, I had no
reason to worry. It's wonderful! I can't get enough. Of course, I still love the original, but this is almost like a companion piece to Taylor's version. This song works no matter what your mood. If you want to chill out and hear something mellow, go find your James Taylor cd. If you're in more of a mood to dance and have a good time, grab "Have A Ball" and enjoy this version of "Fire And Rain".

The only song that is really slow is "Mandy" -- at least it starts that way. As expected, the pace quickens, though it doesn't reach the same fervor as the other songs.

Other songs you'll find covered on "Have a Ball" are "One Tin Soldier", "Sweet Caroline", "Nobody Does it Better" and "Rocket Man." This is an amazing album filled with songs you've heard time and again, but I'd be willing to bet you've never heard them like this!

I can't tell you how hard it was to write this review. I've been listening to
"Me First and the Gimme Gimmes" practically nonstop since the disc arrive. No matter how much I hear it, I can't stop dancing. Not only is all this activity tiring, but it makes typing nearly impossible.

I can't say that these songs are necessarily better than the originals, but they are extremely fun and it's facinating to hear what "Me First" have done with them. In fact, for the most part, they are at least equivalent to the versions they copy, just unlike anything you might expect. The tune is the same, but these songs are faster and the beat is a little mixed up on a few of the songs. I urge everyone to find this CD. It's genre-crossing, generation-crossing, and I can't imagine anyone who likes any kind of rock music not "Having a Ball"!

Recoil is the brainchild of Alan Wilder, who left Depeche Mode in 1995 to
pursue his own projects. The result is the album Unsound Methods. Recording the music at home, Wilder created emotional landscapes with the idea of inviting a variety of people to put words to his tunes and sing vocals.

Wilder could not have picked a better name for the band. The songs are
intensely cinematic, creating pictures in one’s mind. Each song tells a story from the perspective of an emotionally destroyed or destructive individual. As the name of the project suggests, the ideas expressed by the characters in these songs will often make the listener recoil.

Nitzer Ebb vocalist, Douglas McCarthy, supplies words and voice to the
opening track “Incubus” and “Stalker." The music for “Incubus” is based on impressions from the movie Apocalypse Now. The influence is obvious as helicopters fly over Wilder’s synthesizer landscape in the beginning of the song. McCarthy’s voice comes in after the long intro, sounding so much like Martin Sheen, it gives the impression that the words are pulled from the soundtrack. It’s a frenetically paced song that draws the listener in and overwhelms. Listening to this song is very much like watching the movie which spawned it -- the feelings and sense of largeness are the same. This song is simply amazing. McCarthy sings, “There are too many of me/ Too many to kill. . . My name is death/ And I am alive.”

The synthesizer in the beginning of “Stalker” reminds me of the movie Alien. Soon, added to the song are, the ringing of a phone and dramatic B movie styled organ. The music builds, increasing in pace, sounding almost like a movie chase scene.

Wilder found Siobhan Lynch through a demo tape. Her vocal and lyrical contributions to the forthcoming single “Drifting” are haunting. The song opens with synth track that sounds like New Age music -- calming and serene.  Lynch comes in soft, weaving her voice over and into the synthesizer notes. There’s an incredible sensuality to the song, but it’s a dangerous sensuality, not comfortable by any means. “Let it slide/ Let it slide/ Ignore me and everything I’ve done/For I am stupid/I am poison. . .”

Maggie Estep, a spoken word artist from New York, performs on the songs “Luscious Apparatus” and “Control Freak." She describes what appears to be a boy meets girl story at the outset of “Luscious apparatus," but soon, the story twists as we learn what these two people are really like. The way Estep weaves the story line is very powerful; her style of repetition and description make the characters come alive. “Her mouth was small to begin with/ But dreaming made it even smaller/ That’s just how some people are/ Their mouths get smaller with dreaming. . .” The two characters come together and have sex. That’s when things take a twist. It turns out that Jack, the man in the story, likes to use a knife during sex.

“Control Freak” opens with eerie female laughter, which almost sounds like crying. The song builds as the story unfolds, of a woman who follows a strange man onto a train. She follows him off the train and into the basement storage area of a bar. It’s dark and mysterious there.
The man turns and laughs at her, finally saying,  “‘I’ve thought about you
since that day we first met but barely spoke.’ ” She teases him with touch and turns to leave. The two songs have disturbing twists of character, telling whole stories, just as a movie would.

Hildia Campbell, a gospel singer who sang on Depeche Mode’s album, “Songs of Faith and Devotion” provides vocals for “Red River Cargo” and “Missing Piece." The lyrics for the two songs are drawn from old blues and gospel songs. “Red River Cargo” addresses issues of bigotry, making the use of lines from the aforementioned sources incredibly appropriate. “Missing Piece” is probably the least disturbing of the songs, yet the music is not soothing by any means. Like all of the other songs, "Missing Piece" evokes the feeling that there should be pictures to go along with this music!

“Last Breath” is a sensual, moody song, which appears to feature most of the vocalists I’ve mentioned with the exception of  McCarthy. It has elements of a James Bond theme, yet strays onto a more dangerous path. Where a Bond theme would show intrigue and mystery, “Last Breath” adds a breathless, dangerousness.

Wilder, himself sings backing vocals on the song “Shunt” which has no
vocals for the first three minutes. There are very few lyrics at all. The
music drives on and on, bringing the listener into a vortex of sorts at the
end. Vocalists repeat over and over, “There’s blood on the line.” The song and the album end in feedback, giving the feeling of being lost in that vortex, then fading into nothing.

There’s a feeling of uneasiness, of being off balance in all the songs. This
is a dark and disturbing album, but experiencing its artistry makes the moods Wilder creates well worth the ride.