National Music Reviews
PEARS
Go To Prison
Fat Wreck Chords
Street: 07.24
PEARS = Direct Hit! + early Thrice + Gorilla Biscuits
PEARS’ sound is hard to pinpoint—one second, vocalist Zach Quinn is screaming in your face with a backup of pounding atonalities from guitarist Brian Pretus, and then it shifts on a dime to a more melodic approach. With that concoction as the centripetal sound that drives this album, it definitely rips you a new one! Quinn’s voice is charismatically raw and feral, and the music itself is fucking relentless! “You’re Boring” throws you right into the fire, and “Victim To Be,” “Sycophant,” “Terrible” and the rest of the album keep you burning. They’ve even thrown in a solid cover of “Judy Is a Punk” and a reference to the Descendents at the end of “Grimespree.” Go To Prison holds nothing back—its ferocity will have you snarling at a wall and then will let you sit back and enjoy the harmonies. –Eric U. Norris