Search - Penetration :: Coming Up for Air

'Shout Above the Noise'

Paul Ess. | Holywell, N.Wales,UK. | 02/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Reviewing 'Give 'Em Enough Rope' a little while back, made me think about other albums which had truly storming openings; Ubu's 'the Modern Dance' opens with the spectacular 'Non-Alignment Pact', the Scars had the ferocious 'Leave Me in the Autumn' on 'Author! Author!' and even those ole jazz-funksters A Certain Ratio kicked into their crafty classic 'Sextet' with the quiet blisterer 'Lucinda'; but a match for all (and better than most!) is the heavenly pop-rock beginning served up by Penetration on their superb second album: 'Coming Up For Air'.



'Shout Above the Noise' and 'She is the Slave' start us off, and both are truly magnificent. 'Shout' starts with trad r'n'b guitar before EXPLODING in a wall of solid rock noise.



Lyrically powerful and positive, confidence elevating, the tiny, modest Pauline Murray is ablaze:

"When every gang around you falls, And all the walls are closing in,/Feast your eyes upon the fools, Who follow their leaders without thought...

Burning bridges doesn't mean, You can't return where you came from/ Persevere and rear your head, just to let someone know you're here...

Don't let them win, don't let them drag you in, Shout above the noise..!"

And she follows this up with;

"Lost in her thought's, there's no-one to confide in, the baby is crying,/But she doesn't want to hear it....

Sometimes she feels she can't go on, she sees her life as past and gone/Alternative solutions seem inviting but they're out of reach,

Soon the time will come to face, reality the future holds, a key to set her free/Is this the end to all her misery..?

Take me away, she hears herself say, have I the nerve to run away from it all/She is the slave..."



Strong emotions we've all experienced at some desperate time or other, but they take on spiritual form when they're connected to fierce, instant anthems like they are here.

If U2 or other 'worthies' had tunes like these, the songs would last 10 minutes but magnificent Pauline and her twin-guitar backing, spits them out in 3 minute bursts. Economical flair is what we're talking, says what she's gotta then moves on.



Musically it's awesome. Loud punk-pop with proper rocking overtones. Some of the guitar work here would please a Sabbath fan, a Clash fan and a Smiths fan all at the same time. Driving, adventurous rock music, with no inhibitions, no sense of guilt. A divine naivety, coupled with hard rhythms for counterbalance. A concoction of delirium and joy, ladled up with enthusiasm and grit.



But rather than flag after it's killer beginning, 'Coming Up For Air' continues in it's stride, offering a roll-call of full-on power and consistency; 'Killed in the Rush', 'Come into the Open', 'Challenge' and the insidiously brilliant (and totally rockin'!) 'On Reflection'. Each one taking the traditional rock format and turning it on it's head, while at the same time, closely following it's rules and history.



I'm one of those wretched, studenty types, given to moaning and groaning at every opportunity about how I HATE rock 'n' roll and all it's dirty, old fashioned trappings, but I make no apology to my modernist cohorts as I proudly confess; I can't resist this!



You, plucky and fortunate reader, won't be able to either. It's raucous, beautiful, touching and inspiring, time and again.

'Coming Up For Air' is a perfect title. You won't want to. Ever."

Could have been a classic

Amazonian | San FranciscoSan Francisco, CA United States | 04/18/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Penetration's second studio album might have become more than what it is: a sad coda to a fine British pop band's career. With origins in punk, Penetraton gradually extended its style, while still maintaining a certain edge. Over-production troubled their first studio LP; their next would prove more troubling.



The two tracks from the single, "Come Into the Open" were crisp and exciing, and promised something special. But when the LP was released later on, the tracks from the single had all the treble pulled away from them. Even the two single tracks sounded dull. While the import LP is slightly brighter than the US version, it wasn't enough to push away the disappointment. Most frustrating of all is that the record company could have mixed these tracks so they'd sound crisp and special, like the singles; instead, they're muddy and dull.



Penetration has never been known for their lyrics. Paulline Murray has a great voice, but her lyirics have always been vague. This only adds to the problem."