The first time I listened to this record I accidentally listened to it three times. In this case, that’s good– it wasn’t that I couldn’t tell it was done, I just wanted to keep listening to it. Off the bat, with the first song “You’re Boring,” the only thing I can think is WHOA. This sure isn’t. Pears come out swinging at lightning speed.
Go to Prison is the first release from this relatively new band from New Orleans. It’s a hardcore punk record that’s everything you’d expect: loud, fast, and brash. Go to Prison, at ten songs long, clocks in at only 21 minutes, but Pears deliver. This record is catchy as hell.
You definitely hear influences from older hardcore bands like Black Flag (and moreso Keith Morris’ current band, OFF!) and Minor Threat; Descendents for sure; and the snottiness and speed of a lot of the tunes bring Zeke to mind. Pears even throw in a cover of the Ramones’ “Judy Is a Punk” near the end of the record. I’m pretty sure any of the songs from Go to Prison wouldn’t have been out of place on one of the early Punk-o-Rama compilations. Some tunes on the record, especially in the vocal tone, echo bands like Darkbuster, even stretching to older skate-punk like Murphy’s Law.
All of the songs on Go to Prison rocket along at breakneck speed, but not so fast that the band ever loses control– the musicianship is tight, not sloppy, even though it’s fast. The second track, Victim to Be, tricks the listener into thinking it’s going to be a little slower, but of course it isn’t, though the vocals in the chorus slow down enough for everyone to catch their breath for a bit before they slam into the next part. The songs are all sing-along-able, too, despite their speed. Pears keeps things controlled enough for listeners to follow along and still being able to understand the lyrics, something that isn’t always the case in this particular genre.
“Sycophant” is probably my favorite track on Go to Prison, maybe because it reminds me a lot of the punk I listened to growing up and going to shows in my hometown. You definitely get the Zeke vibe here; it’s under two minutes long and is over with before you know it, but there’s a ton of energy crammed into this brief rager. Ending track “Grimespree” is memorable in a different way, finishing the record out with a sound closer to crust (and maybe the song title gives that away!)
Go To Prison was released June 24th, and while they don’t have vinyl yet, you can purchase a physical copy on CD at pearstheband.storenvy.com, and preview the record on their bandcamp page (https://pearstheband.bandcamp.com/album/go-to-prison) or on Spotify. According to their Facebook page, they’re heading out from NOLA later this summer to tour parts of the South, heading as far west as Colorado to play at Denver’s Summergrind fest. I’m hoping they’ll add a Midwest date or two!