Album Reviews

When Jim Lindberg briefly left Pennywise in 2009, he started a new band called The Black Pacific with longtime collaborator Alan Vega. They were signed to SideOneDummy Records and their self-titled debut album was released  in 2010. Two years later, Lindberg returned to Pennywise and it seemed like that one album was all we’d hear from The Black Pacific. Until now. The Black Pacific released a new album, ‘Here Comes Our Wave’.

The album opens with single ‘I Think I’m Paranoid,’ a two-and-a-half minute rager that sounds like… well, Pennywise. Is there anything wrong with that? Hell no. From there on, things get a bit more diverse. ‘Superhero’ and ‘Best Day Ever’ are both highly melodic and ‘No Fun’ is way catchier than a song about sociopath dictators should be. None of the songs on ‘Here Comes Our Wave’ venture too far from Pennywise’s wheelbarrow, making it an obvious choice for fans of the skatepunk legends, but far enough to warrant The Black Pacific’s existence.

Apparently Lindberg is sitting on hundreds of demos from the past few decades, songs that don’t quite fit the Pennywise mold. Here’s to hoping we won’t have to wait another 14 years until we hear some more of those cuts.