Band:	Pennywise
Album:	Reason To Believe
Style:	Melodic hardcore, Punk rock
Release date:	March 25, 2008
A review by:	jupitreas

01. (Intro) As Long As We Can
02. One Reason
03. Faith and Hope
04. Something to Live For
05. All We Need
06. The Western World
07. We'll Never Know
08. Confusion
09. Nothing to Lose
10. It's Not Enough to Believe
11. You Get the Life You Choose
12. Affliction
13. Brag, Exaggerate & Lie
14. Die for You
15. Next in Line
16. One Nation
17. Just One More Day

Pennywise was always the dark horse of 90s melodic "pop" hardcore and this is because unlike most bands of their ilk, their convictions always seemed genuine. Sure, they played in roughly the same style as Green Day or The Offspring (not to mention the pioneers NOFX and Bad Religion); however, their lyrics were always a stout rebellion against the gritty reality of the modern world and their music, being faster and more metallic than the genre norm, put them closer to NYHC crossover stalwarts such as Sick Of It All or Agnostic Front in terms of credibility. Since their sound hasn't really evolved much over the years, it was always the attitude that was most important in a Pennywise record. For this reason, Reason To Believe is one of the band's most important releases, and maybe one of the two that most people should certainly hear.

The difference in attitude is not immediately obvious, but becomes noticeable with multiple listens. The band is still sloganeering and ranting their way through the barrage of aggressive hardcore punk; however, for the first time ever, the dark shadow of the futility of it all rears its ugly head and makes everything exponentially more interesting. Pennywise are fighting a lost battle, and they know it - the commercial peak of the music that they and their peers practised in the 90s is long gone, with fellow bands either completely selling out or falling apart. Their adolescent but literate anger has been made into a commodity marketed by Hot Topic - the monster has easily consumed and assimilated all but one regiment of the anti-conformist army - Pennywise. They unleash the most aggressive and vicious array of hyperactive hardcore yet - "It's Not Enough To Believe", "One Reason" or "You Get The Life You Choose" all rip along at a breakneck speed, together with thrashy crossover riffs and gang shout refrains, with the remaining songs generally matching or at least approaching this intensity. The music is catchy as hell; however, the band knows that it will no longer speak to anyone.

Reason To Believe sounds like the last stand of a few brave soldiers about to lose a war. The album is obviously an attempt at finding that eponymous nexus of meaning. That the band fails at this with the record is both an epitaph to what the genre could stand for and perhaps its last brilliant product.