PEARS
Green Star
Feature Track: Anhedonia
Keep Listening: Green Star
Deep Cut: Doorbell
When I was a freshman in high school, there was a group of upper classmen who I met through community theater. I can't say that I was ever "part of their group" or anything, but they were nice to me and introduced me to a few things that contributed to my nascent personality. For instance, my first beer was a Rolling Rock poured into my mouth from the 2nd balcony by Scott Kearny at a cast party.
One of the most influential people for me during that time was a girl name Br3it Anderson. Yes, she spelled her name with a 3. I thought it was badass. Actually, I still do. Br3it was a bad ass chick. Rumors abounded that she met Marilyn Manson at the Rock & Roll hall of fame and "dated" him for a bit. I have no idea if that is true, but I want to believe it. She was the daughter of my English teacher. Her father introduced me to the work of Joseph Campbell and once gave me extra credit on an exam because I was able to name the song 'Rats' by Pearl Jam based on a 15 second clip of the song. Her mother was an obsessive Rock & Roll fan and had a 8'x6' afghan with the likeness of Steven Tyler on it. She made it herself. She always had an Aerosmith shirt on.
Anyway, one day during a rehearsal for our Highschool production of Three Musketeers, she gave me a mix tape, out of blue. I have no idea why she gave it to me or what made her think (realize) that I needed it. This was back when mix-tapes were literally cassettes. I can't remember all the tracks, but I remember most of them. It was a collection of the sickest tracks I had ever heard. Blag Flag, Prong, Minor Threat, Green Jelly, Bad Brains, Fugazi and many other bands I had never heard of. I wore that tape out! My first listen through that tape was one of the most crucial moments of my youth and it sticks with me and informs my sensibilities to this day.
The older I get, the more difficult it becomes to really get excited about bands in the "punk" genre. Over time this genre has become so watered down and confused that one never knows what will come out of the speakers. It could be pop music, hard-core, screamo or any number of other types of music that do not make me think of "punk".
From the get-go I knew that PEARS was legit. The average length of any track is about 90 seconds and their sound flows through meter changes and sonic moods in a way that took me right back to that cassette tape. There is a specific feeling that I get in my gut, head and soul when I hear some of those old mix-tape songs and for me most of this new album resonates on that same frequency.
PEARS brings a new sophistication to a legitimate brand of punk by allowing subtle hints of pop, rock and hardcore to seep through for seconds at a time while never veering from the tried and true patina of dirty garage punk rock.
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