Review
Pears
Go To Prison

Naming an album is something of a branding concept. Yes, it’s also artistic, but occasionally those two worlds collide, even if we don’t want to admit it.

Go To Prison is fitting for Pears debut. It’s angry and often reflects the tone of a loner lashing (slashing?) out at the system. Then the group choruses come, bringing solidarity to the forefront before the next angry burst.

Pears set the bar pretty high with opener “You’re Boring,” though it loses a little momentum over the next couple of songs in the more sing-song melodic bits. The band has some pounding angst akin to Kid Dynamite (which isn’t a reference I frequently make), though they don’t pull off the melodic parts nearly as well, choosing a singing tone that throws off the tone, as in “Victim to Be.” But for the most part this record is short, fast, and loud, building those vein-popping shout-along moments with furious chords and drumming that leads that way. The melody shines through better in a song like “Forever Sad.”

Along with “You’re Boring,” “Syncophant” is another standout, raging for 1:49, which is about as long as this level of intensity can be kept up. The record as a whole is 10 songs over 22 minutes, and that’s including the 5:06 closing act “Grimespree.”

While not a mis-step, the cover of “Judy Is a Punk” doesn’t seem to fit on the record. It’s a good song and a good cover, but the pop arrangement just doesn’t really fit in the middle and it throws things off a bit, feeling like a B-side or compilation would have been more fitting.