There’s nothing I inherently dislike about Pentimento’s newest full length I, No Longer. Most of it can be summed up by saying nothing else but “It’s beautiful,” but I’ll try my best to quantify those moments into reasons for why you should pick up this release and give it a shot.
These 12 tracks are mostly mid to slow tempo paced songs that flow seamlessly into one another. It’s one of the best records of recent memory that utilizes flow perfectly. Each song feels like it was written specifically to transition into the next, which is not a new idea by any means, but this record does is very well and without repeating musical or lyrical phrases or inserting transitions that generally feel out of place or non-organic to the song. The performances are all spot on without feeling like they’re musicians just going through the motions. Vocally, the lyrics are expressed in a sincere, emotional way without compromising tone or using studio tricks to pull out a performance that didn’t already exist in a raw form.
The guitars are especially beautiful. Many of the tones are gorgeous and unique, balancing distortion and crisp clean qualities perfectly while they overlap and weave around one another. A special shout out to that full yet soft bass tone at the beginning of “Got My Answer” which exemplifies how a bass line can be both simple and beautiful. The drumming pops up here and there with some exceptional work behind the rest of the noise and helps immensely with the flow of the record, which some, if not all of it, is dictated through the kit.
It’s nice because the band has a pretty distinct sound that doesn’t quite hit on any other artists. Although “Gateway” immediately made me think of Deja era Brand New with it’s simple music yet complex feeling and build up, while “Sink or Swim” felt like a B-side Swellers tune with the big chorus and open chords, the songs still are uniquely different. It’s that undefinable quality that Pentimento has. While both those songs are on different parts of the alternative/pop punk spectrum, Pentimento makes both feel at home on the same record with one another.
There’s a lot to take in on these songs and a lot of great moments to experience that Pentimento has created here. There’s also a few non-redeeming qualities of this record that were a bit hard to get past. Sometimes certain tunes felt like they were dragging. Sometimes the lyrics just seemed to miss the mark or touch a bit too close to cliches that need not be hit on more. Mostly though, I’m enjoying the hell out of this record which hit perfectly for the weather at the end of October. If you’ve never taken the time to check out Pentimento, the time has never been better. Their already excellent discography has just gotten deeper and better with the release of I, No Longer.
Tracklist:
1. Small Talk for Strangers
2. My Solution Is In the Lake
3. Sink or Swim
4. Clever Reason
5. Stuck Forever
6. Got My Answer
7. Again
8. Gateway
9. Tiger Eye
10. Slow But Sure
11. No Matter What
12. Tell Me
RIYL: Misser, The Swellers, Brand New
Rating:
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