Review Summary: The Pillows stumble through a creative misstep distinguished by a few standout moments.
In some ways, The Pillows’ career parallels that of Weezer. Both bands released fantastic albums that are highly-regarded by fans as essential listening in alternative rock. And both bands displayed a sharp, inexplicable descent into mediocrity, it not outright awfulness, through releases that failed to live up to their early successes.
Actually, such a comparison does disservice to The Pillows; while Weezer had only two universally well-loved albums, The Pillows released five consecutive records of outstanding alternative rock, in addition to the excellent (but stylistically different) albums of the first half of the 1990s. But by the time 2003’s Penalty Life came out, the comparison to Weezer seemed almost inevitable. Since its predecessor Thank You My Twilight, there seemed to be a fundamental shift in the quality of the band’s music.
To its credit, Penalty Life is certainly an album that aspires to do something different. Compared to its stylistically inconsistent predecessor, Penalty Life feels considerably more unified and works well as a whole. The band tries new things, incorporating a twangy sound that wobbles between rockabilly and surf rock. But it’s hard to fully appreciate when the opening tracks Dead Stock Paradise and Lonesome Diamond are so underwhelming. They’re dragged down by bad riffs and awkward melodies that unfortunately fail to accomplish the band’s desired stylistic evolution. It’s somewhat amusing that with the exception of Good Morning Good News, The Pillows’ opening tracks have never been all that great, but having a weak second song only adds to the frustration.
Penalty Life is at its best when it’s relying on ideas that the band already does well. Freebee Honey is an outstanding high-energy rocker that mercifully allows the listener to forget the disappointing tracks that preceded it, with its roaring chorus and great instrumental section. It would have been a much better choice for a single than Terminal Heaven’s Rock, which fails at its aspirations of playful sleaziness. On the positive side, Manabe’s guitar sounds better here (and throughout the album) compared to his awful tone on Thank You, My Twilight.
The Sun That Doesn’t Rise sounds out of place in the middle of the album, but it’s actually a fairly well-composed song that shows a level of subtlety immediately at odds with the nose-wrinkling moments of the weaker tracks. Like the preceding album, Penalty Life suffers from bad production, and this song in particular would have really benefited from a warmer, more dynamic sound.
It’s always easier to give The Pillows the benefit of the doubt when they’re making something comparatively quiet and subdued, if only because there’s a greatly reduced chance of the band embarrassing themselves like they do on Phantom Pain, which recalls the weak riffs and melodies of the first two tracks. Fortunately, if the listener is patient enough to stick with the album through the end, there are some other good songs mixed in with the mediocre (or bad) tracks. I Know You has a rockabilly twinge to it, the only cut on the album to pull it off successfully; the entire song is good and has a great solo from Manabe to supplement its sing-along chorus. Moon Marguerite is dragged down by Sawao’s squawking vocals (his voice sounding, perhaps, its all-time worst on this album) but the hooks are actually quite good, even if Yamanaka’s attempted earnestness is overwrought.
Super Trampoline School Kid and Mole Town Prisoner aren’t outright bad, but they’re pervaded by the sensation that that the band is going through the motions, recognizing that their misguided attempts to break new ground at the start of the album really didn't work out. The former track is a surfabilly instrumental, and it works better than other attempts at this style, with an enjoyable hook. Mole Town Prisoner brings some annoying synths into the equation but it has some good hooks, despite the hilarious Engrish lyrics (“I need to know more about MySpace!”)
Mercifully, the album actually comes to an excellent end with The Scar Whispers, Nobody Is In Paradise. It’s one of the most mournful songs the band has ever written and feels more authentic than anything preceding it on Penalty Life. Yamanaka’s singing sounds good, for once, and Manabe gets in a good guitar solo before the song’s close. The production is unobtrusive, and the almost-country sounding accenting works here because it’s subtle enough to avoid distraction.
The band has the habit of finishing their albums with a throwaway track after an emotional high point, but in Penalty Life’s case, the hidden track is actually a nice supplement. The band remade I’m A Broken Piece, a song from 90s My Life, and it sounds far better (and more unhinged) than the original ever did. Penalty Life starts out weak, but comes to a strong end; it’s a frustrating album because it has a few very good songs that deserve better than this, a proper album that would offer a better context for enjoying them. More disappointing is the fact that Terminal Heaven’s Rock had two B-sides – Sick Vibration and the outstanding Over Amp – that would have been far more welcome than many of the songs that actually made the album.
As disappointing as it can be, at least Penalty Life isn’t the sound of a band selling out. The Pillows do deserve credit for trying something different, even when it doesn’t work. They sound like they’re genuinely trying, too, and not simply writing unambitious filler. The problem is that it just doesn’t work, for the most part. In some ways, Penalty Life is a more admirable album than its predecessor, even though Thank You, My Twilight had better songs overall. Even though it’s a weaker album than the band produced in their late-90s heyday, Penalty Life aspires to do something new, which is more than can be said for many bands at this stage of their career.
