Pennybridge Pioneers is Millencolin's fourth and iconic breakthrough album. It was released in 2000, three years after For Monkeys.
While the sound technically doesn't have the power of later albums, there is tremendous power (...sorry, this is going to sound really corny!) in the emotion of the lyrics in this album. Bursting with humility and brutal honesty, one could describe this album as punk-rock poetry.
Through less rose tinted glasses, though, technically the sound is quite flawed. The messiness of the guitars and cymbals often sounds like a badly-compressed mp3, on some songs the bass guitar is AWOL, and the lower pitched part of the vocals is quite muddy. The vocals sound is also sometimes thin and strained, however that is part of the appeal; it is endearing to hear the singer pouring every last drop of energy and emotion into the songs. (Much of the my enjoyment of Millencolin is in the lyrics, so while critically listening I found that over-analysing the musicality was quite a killjoy.) Anyway, enough audiophile moaning, because that's not what this album is meant for...
There are several songs which are almost punk-ditties, especially Fox's tale of a love affair with a motor-scooter and Pepper with its heart-warming and motivational message.
No Cigar and Penguins and Polarbears are actually in a slower style and similar to the Home From Home album, with really the only difference being Home From Home's more polished production style. No Cigar is a classic anthem for the bullied, while Penguins and Polarbears is one of my favourite Millencolin songs. It is exceptional in both lyrics and musicality, by combining grunty riffs, soaring guitars, a powerful singalong chorus and fantastic buildup in the bridge which explodes into a massive final chorus. Brilliant. Hellman is very similar, although slightly faster.
There are several punk ballads on this album. Duckpond is the catchy tale of being stuck in a backwater village, while The Mayfly talks about sticking to your values. It covers a similar topic to The Clash's Garageland and has a fantastic singalong chorus. I find that lyrics such as:
To a place no-one can trust,
To a scene based on a lie
...perfectly sum up the destructive influences of fashion and money on the arts. A-Ten tells the tale of tough punk rock guys nurturing a hurt younger brother. Finally, The Ballad itself is musically clunky and labours along at times, yet this punk-rock emo song is also heartfelt and inspiring.
Stop to Think and Highway Donkey are designed for slamming around in a moshpit, not listening to on a leather sofa thoughtfully scratching your chin. So let's not over-analyse them, people!
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