Chances are you have never even heard of Pinhead Gunpowder. Who can blame you? This retrospective is 23 tracks in 43 minutes. Raw pop-punk rock: snotty delivery, double-time jaunt and real melody. With great lyrics (from Crimpshine’s Aaron Cometbus) delivered by Green Day’s Billie Joe, Kick Over the Traces is a great reminder of just how awesome he was before Warner Bros. turned him into a poster boy for a Hot Topic fashion punk generation. Songs of love and life and struggle delivered with grit and sincerity that span 18 years and 10 releases. This is classic mid-‘90s pop punk that is refreshing to rediscover. Three new tracks from their 2008 7” West Side Highway also make the cut. I guarantee that you will be shredding to this well into next summer.

Published in Volume 64, Number 6 of The Uniter (October 8, 2009)