Punk is the prodigal bastard son of rock and roll.

It was a sporadic reaction against the hypocrisy of 70s dinosaur rock when “rebel heroes” like the Stones and Led Zep long since morphed into a bunch of jet-setting coke-sniffing multi-millionaires. Punk was, and still is, angry music for the angst-ridden young and young at heart. Despite its anti-music posturings eventually shifting into methamphetamine-fueled white noise overdrive, punk never really lost its soft spot for melodicism.Bands like The Descendents and The Dickies, who played loud and fast yet oddly sounded happy and, for lack of better words, Beatlesque, were like a beam of sunshine in those dark years of Reagan-bashing hardcore era.

Naga City’s Pennies For Jane adheres to this melodic tradition – Milo Goes to College instead of My War.

P4J concocted a sound you can actually enjoy basking merrily in the sun, perhaps smoking some of that sticky greenish delight. But then again, after recovering from that ecstatic high, it strikes you after a closer listen that this eponymous titled DIY full-length is no less a serious effort.

Beyond the good time feel, you can hear a tight unit playing their hearts and guts out. The album overflows with exhilarating tunes that boast more hooks than a boat full of fishing rods. While it’s cool that this effort preserves the raw energy of the band’s explosive live performances, it could’ve benefited more from better mixing and mastering work. Standout tracks are “‘Eloisa”, “Superhero” and of course, the crowd-favorite feel-good anthem “Perfect Day.”

Traces of late-90s melodic MTV pop-punk can be hard to ignore in some tracks; nonetheless, the overall sound is definitely Pennies for Jane’s. In this Godforsaken country oozing with bad vibes, feel-good punk rock will never fail to be a refreshing treat.

*originally published in The Pillars, Aug. 2006 issue.

Credits to:

LMR Ramos