Pentimento‘s passion culminated last year with their self-titled. It stood true to their pop-punk influence and held its course in the roots of what made Jeremiah Pauly tick. The Buffalo foursome add a lot of structure to their musical hinges as a band pivoted on pop-punk authenticity, sheer honesty in their beliefs and overall, endearing upbringing as told from their musical novels. Inside The Sea is the album that expands on all this in just four tracks. It’s deeply personal and eclipses the musician-audience border. That boundary is gone, untethered and eclipsed by a Pentimento sound that focuses less on pop-punk but a more traditional emo-punk route.
Getting acquainted on a deeper level and in a more personal bond is what Pauly aims for. He spews on relationships as “Not So Young” and “Just Friends” would allow. It’s akin to Brand New but much more punkish and melodic. Vincent Caito generously donates his bassline offerings in a most resonating display that allows Pauly’s guitars to dance around and intersperse heavily-cutting and distorted riffs. They’re more gruff but as introspective as the album gets, the guitars inflect to carve a new niche for Pentimento fans. It’s not the band they heard before. But it’s one that ensnares you, lures you in and traps you for the audible-better. The sonic signature of Pentimento burns more in a good way, much more.
The contemporary undertones that are characteristic to them remain present but you feel they’ve just progressed much more and developed even greater as a band. It’s growth, beyond previous expectations. “Any Minute Now” strikes the listener as a nice mash-up of a calmer Vendetta Red meeting Brand New meeting of course, Jimmy Eat World – all fashioned along Pauly’s memorable vocal quota. He’s less refined in these four tracks but he’s as potent as ever. It sounds a bit demo-ish and garage-ish but they pull out the necessary stops to impress on this record.
Themes of reflection and nostalgia come abound on “It’s Okay” which takes pace off the record but still, the momentum is there. Steam is kept. This is Pentimento’s version of high-octane. It branches off from their influences, for sure, but it’s a stamp of approval on what they think of life. Make life daring, bold and switch it up a bit. That’s what Pauly and his cohorts did. They flipped their sound on its head and went faster and dirtier. Harder. And yes, stronger. So much win here. It ain’t funny.
4/5 Stars