This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
If punk rock is just supposed to be for disgruntled youth, somebody better tell Pennywise.
Over the course of a decade, this killer Hermosa Beach quartet have overcome plenty of adversity — including the suicide of one member a few years back — and grown into one of the scene’s toughest, smartest and (dare I say) most mature outfits. Which is not to say they don’t still kick more butt than Jet Li; Straight Ahead, their fifth disc, has all the skate-punk riffage of Offspring and street-smart power of Bad Religion — but without the former’s cartoon silliness or the latter’s finger-pointing preachiness. It may be a tough line to walk — but Pennywise make it look easy.
