ALBUM REVIEW | THE BLACK PACIFIC – HERE COMES OUR WAVE by Craig Harston 4/5
Did you know Pennywise frontman Jim Lindberg has a side project? Well, he does, they’re called The Black Pacific, and to date they’ve put out only one album, with this years Here Comes Our Wave marking the bands first new music in 14 years.
The Black Pacific feature a more melodic punk sound compared to Pennywise’s more straight up skate punk approach though it’s very easy to compare the two bands – Lindberg has such distinctive vocals, it’s hard to not think of his main band at times, especially after over 30 years. But as Lindberg says “I think it’s more accurate to say that Pennywise sounds like me, not the other way around!”.
The opening track (and single) ‘I Think I’m Paranoid’ is a melodic hardcore banger and takes a deep dive into the anxiety we all experience when facing the world around us, while the album closer and title track is all about escapism, featuring a punked-up surfer rock riff throughout and a great guitar solo during the bridge.
In between these songs, the rest of the album is equally essential. ‘When Paper Burns’ has a beefy, metal-tinged guitar line giving it a real sense of urgency, ‘Float Away’ is as close as The Black Pacific gets to a love song (“I’m tired of all the drama and I’m tired of staring at my phone, let’s find a place on the map, I don’t care where it’s at, let’s go just us alone”) along with ‘Won’t Let You Down’ which is all about the longevity of Lingberg’s relationship with his wife. ‘Superhero’ has the protagonist of the song wanting to make something more of their life (and is arguably the one song that sounds most like Pennywise) while ‘Here We Come’ is a call to arms of sorts, noting how the human race is stronger than we know and features some wonderfully messed up guitars!
Here Comes Our Wave captures the same sense of urgency that Lindberg has long been known for but is different enough from his main band to stand out on it’s own and may be the most relevant punk rock album released this year!
The album is out now via Dine Alone Records.
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