Album Review: Pennywise - Yesterdays

Just because a song has been written, does that mean it should be recorded and released? Should we be getting nostalgic and looking in the rear-view when there's so much promise out on the horizon? You can ponder both these musings when listening to Yesterdays, Pennywise's 'new' album of old jams, some re-recorded, some cut to wax for the first time, in the factory district of their Hermosa Beach hometown.

Because of the history in these tracks – embryonic material dusted off from the archives, with some songs even written by deceased bass player Jason Thirsk – you want to root for them. But sadly, if you've been with the band for a quarter-century, then you, like Pennywise, have grown beyond these sounds, and considering their last two full-length albums (2008's Reason To Believe and 2012's All Or Nothing) were genuine triumphs, you can't help but crave something more.

Yesterdays just never seems to get out of second gear. Byron McMackin is a ridiculous talent behind the kit; with these rhythms he seems on autopilot. Jim Lindberg, meanwhile – steering away from political leaning topics – brings attitude but leaves the aggression at home. Fletcher Dragge's guitar playing is about the only real highlight here, with his speedy fretwork saving Violence Never Ending, Thanksgiving and She's A Winner, but it's not enough to get this album over the line. The fact that we've been waiting for a new Pennywise album proper since Lindberg's 2012 return only adds to the anticlimactic feeling further.