It’s been a strained relationship for fans of Los Angeles punk rock institution Pennywise. Founding member Jim Lindberg left unexpectedly in 2009 and was replaced by extremely talented yet ill-fitting Ignite vocalist Zoli Téglás. 2012’sAll Or Nothing, featuring Tégláson vocals, was a reinvigoration, yet it didn’t prove itself to be the return to former glory that Pennywise needed.
Eventually Lindberg returned, and the band has resumed its status as one of melodic punk rock’s most iconic and longest-running outfits. Over 25 years into their career, Pennywise have released Yesterdays, an album of songs originally written in their artistic and commercial peak in the early to mid-’90s, most notably featuring songs written by former bassist Jason Thirsk, who tragically committed suicide in 1996. On paper, Yesterdays reads more like a footnote addition to a long-running band’s discography, usually found in long-winded box sets and anthologies, yet the record finds a way to work.
A fitting commemoration to the work of Thirsk, and a nostalgic throwback to a bygone era, Yesterdays may be an easy way of putting out a record without having to actually think of anything new, yet holds its own as a document of this band.
3/5.
Yesterdaysis out now through Epitaph.
