Reason to Believe

Reason to Believe
Studio album by Pennywise
Released	March 24, 2008
Recorded	October 2007 – January 2008 at Maple Studios, Santa Ana, California / NRG Studios, North Hollywood, California
Genre	Punk rock, melodic hardcore
Length	41:55
Label	Myspace, Epitaph
Producer	Cameron Webb
Professional reviews
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Pennywise chronology
The Fuse (2005) Reason to Believe (2008) All or Nothing (2012)
Singles from Reason to Believe
"The Western World" Released: February 2008 "Die for You" Released: September 2008 "One Reason" Released: March 2009[1]

Reason to Believe is the ninth studio album by the American punk rock band Pennywise, which was released on March 25, 2008 as a worldwide free digital download on MySpace. MySpace Records released the album within the United States as a standard CD and a limited-edition vinyl version with two bonus tracks not available in any other format. The album was available in Europe on March 24 through Epitaph Records. Originally to be released in 2007 based on the two year gaps between the last eight studio albums, a tentative title for the album was Free for the People, but the title was scrapped.^{[citation needed]}

Some copies of this album have the Parental Advisory label on the cover. This is the first time a Pennywise album would have a Parental Advisory label on some album covers, even though many of their previous albums contain profanity.

Reason to Believe peaked at #98 in the United States on the The Billboard 200, and #46 in Australia on the ARIA Albums Chart, the band's second lowest position on that chart since the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful 1995 album About Time.

Reason to Believe was the last Pennywise album to feature Jim Lindberg on vocals, after his departure from the band in August 2009.

Writing and production

In September 2005, it was reported that Pennywise were planning to return to the studio in 2006 to begin work on their next album after The Fuse tour.^[2] In May 2006, it was also reported that the album was intended to contain songs that were not on the previous album.^[3] It was later revealed that one such song was "Brag, Exaggerate & Lie".

In an October 2006 interview, guitarist Fletcher Dragge stated that "everyone's been already working on songs" and Pennywise would get "together in the next coming months and put all the songs together".^[4] In that interview, he also predicted that the album would be out "before next summer or in next summer".

In September 2007, it was reported that Dragge also stated in interview at the Warped Tour that the band had approximately 60 new songs and would spend the Fall "arguing" over which thirteen to include on the album.^[5]

In October 2007, it was reported that Pennywise were back in the studio, where Dragge said they were "working on some new shit".^[6] It was also reported that Randy Bradbury wrote most of the songs and the album was intended to be more of an "old school" Pennywise album.

Promotion and release

In November 2007, it was revealed that the band would release the album free through a partnership between MySpace Records, and Textango, a mobile music distributor.^[7] In addition to that, the album would be for sale in stores through Epitaph, including a bonus DVD and two extra tracks.

On March 20, 2008, the band made the entire album (excluding the bonus tracks) available to stream on their Myspace page.

As of March 2008, according to an OC Register report, Reason to Believe has been downloaded more than 400,000 times, making it one of Pennywise's most successful albums since their 2001 breakthrough Land of the Free?.^[8] The album's first single, "The Western World", was premiered on the Los Angeles radio station KROQ on February 20, 2008, and debuted at number 28 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart (and remaining in the Top 40 for 20 weeks), marking the highest initial charting single in the band's career.

Pennywise began the Reason to Believe Tour to promote the album on March 26, 2008 in San Diego, California. The tour came to a close on September 28, 2008 at Tucson Electric Park KFMA Fall in Tucson, Arizona.^[9] The band was scheduled to play at Liskfest at Oak Canyon Ranch in Irvine, California on October 11th, but this show was cancelled.

Critical reception

Reason to Believe was released on March 25, 2008, and was the first Pennywise album distributed via MySpace Records. The album received widespread critical acclaim upon its release, earning a rating of 4 out of 5 on Allmusic.

Track listing

1. "(Intro) As Long as We Can" (3:09)
2. "One Reason" (2:55)
3. "Faith and Hope" (3:04)
4. "Something to Live For" (2:38)
5. "All We Need" (2:48)
6. "The Western World" (3:08)
7. "We'll Never Know" (2:42)
8. "Confusion" (3:01)
9. "Nothing to Lose" (2:57)
10. "It's Not Enough to Believe" (2:38)
11. "You Get the Life You Choose" (2:52)
12. "Affliction" (3:19)
13. "Brag, Exaggerate & Lie" (2:04)
14. "Die for You" (3:40)
15. "Next in Line" (3:09) †
16. "One Nation" (2:47)‡
17. "Just One More Day" (3:18) ↔

† = Vinyl bonus track / Cd Japan Bonus Track
‡ = Vinyl bonus track
↔ = Free download through Textango and Myspace Records from March 25 to April 8.

Personnel

• Jim Lindberg - Vocals
• Fletcher Dragge - Guitar, Vocals
• Randy Bradbury - Bass
• Byron McMackin - Drums

References