Pernice Brothers
The World Won't End
(Ashmont)

www.pernicebrothers.com

Release date: June 5, 2001

by David Fufkin

The World Won't End is the record of the year. The Record of the Year. To put an exclamation on this point using the power of threes, The Record Of The Year.

Instead of making such a bold assertion without any substance, I tried to be critical in the classic sense in my evaluation of this recording because I think it deserves it. Using the dictionary definition of "critical", i.e., to exercise or involve careful judgment or judicious evaluation, here's why this recording is the Record of the Year.

1. The songs themselves.

The Pernice Brothers write impeccably crafted songs with subtle, powerful melody, harmony and arrangements on The World. The songs themselves can be played with a simple acoustic guitar accompaniment and blow you away. At the same time, the songs can bear the weight of strings and extremely complex arrangements without wilting into a muddled mess. Mind you, I am referring merely to the song structures sans lyrics. Think McCartney singing "Scrambled Eggs" and you will be following me here. These ain't no 1-4-5 wonders on The World.

2. The lyrics.

Joe Pernice is a poet.

I'm not talking about the tortured, unemployed performance artist-type doing a bad impression of Nick Tosches drunkenly jeering the same performance artist from stage right at some Lower East Side club. What I'm talking about is that you are alive to experience a person who could and very likely will become a very important poet in our lifetime on the level of a Robert Frost.

The lyrics on The World touch on universal subjects such as pain, monotony, loneliness, the fleeting nature of relationships and life, regret, fear, unrequited love, death, the torture of an on again-off again relationship and the simple power of love.

Far beyond moon and June rhymes, Pernice's images are loose enough that one can step into his world. Pernice's words communicate comfort that the reader/listener is not alone in his experiences and thoughts, thoughts so eloquently and perfectly captured by Pernice. What Joe does is allow the reader/listener to interpret his work and make it their own.

The following is what I heard on The World. My point is not that my interpretations are what was intended, or even correct, but that such interpretation is possible. For this writer, the inspiration of interpretation in the reader/listener is the essence of great poetry and great lyrics. Pernice makes you care about the meaning of his work. He makes you care because you want to make it a part of you. No one is writing lyrics like this. No one. Joe Pernice is in a class by himself on The World.

a. "Working Girls (sunlight shines)"

An anthem to the monotony, frustration and desperation of middle class working women. The bridge: "...contemplating suicide or a graduate degree." The chorus: "...all the Working Girls are fine." No better word describes the silent desperation of someone that has "settled" than fine. It's perfect.

b. "7:30"

An ode to one who has loved and lost, or one who has never loved at all. A vividly sad portrait of loneliness. Chorus: "...It would have been nice to be someone, to have and to hold the only one, but when 7:30 comes around, there's nothing there, just bitterness."

What's Pernice saying when he says "to be someone"? Is it a comment on the outdated concept that a person is nothing without a mate? Isn't 7:30 p.m. or a.m. a really lonely time if you are not in a relationship, and wish you were? I think so. Again. Perfect.

c. "Our Time Has Passed"

A song about the fleeting nature of life and relationships. When Pernice says: "...our time has passed so quickly," it appears to be about a relationship. I read it as a message about our own mortality. Beautiful.

d. "She Heightened Everything"

A song about the insincerity of obsessive love and Joe's skepticism regarding obsessive love. "I don't believe in love, and I want to believe" and the outro, "...keep loving me to death." Simple, graphic, powerful images.

e. "Bryte Side"

A reference to a Nick Drake song, Pernice confesses his terror of love, the kind that leaves you without defenses. "I hope I never love anybody, the way we never really tried." The absolute negative "never" translates the abject fear of the "Bryte Side", a side where love and commitment simultaneously punish and reward those that take the risk. To most of us, the risk is too great. When he says: "On the Bryte Side, left me...blind," anyone, anywhere who has exposed themselves to someone else and been disappointed has to feel these words. Beautiful.

f. "Let That Show"

A song about the mask of calm indifference to hide the pain. "It feels like I am dying as I watch you go, I never let that show"

g. "Shaken Baby"

The pain of unrequited love, or love that is not fully returned. When Joe writes that he is "...tired from the weight of pulling you", I see her face and I feel the frustration of trying to create something that just isn't there.

h. "Flaming Wreck"

A song about facing death using the context of an airplane crash. "Five miles high, falling down in a Bloody Mary" Is Joe talking about his drink, or the bloodied state of his fellow passenger, Mary? When he sings, "hello..." at the outro, is he greeting his own demise? Is he addressing Mary? Is there a religious connotation? Is Mary the Virgin Mary? Absolutely brilliant.

i. "Endless Supply"

The torture of the undecided lover. "Times you say goodbye, endless supply". These words simply and masterfully say it all.

Again, if you buy this recording, I would be shocked if these lyrics don't speak directly to you, giving you prose to stamp onto some significant event or memory in your life. Sounds like exaggeration, but it's not. Again, you will come up with your own interpretations. You will be inspired to come up with your own interpretations. That is why The World is legitimately great poetry.

3. The performances

The understated guitars, tasteful bass lines, metronome perfect drums, lush strings and impeccable taste for time and space by the players bring The World to an even higher level. The Pernice Brothers can play in spades but they don't. Less is more, and The World is a classic example.

4. Production

The production of Thom Monahan and Joe Pernice create a recording that is sonically dense and as light as a down pillow. If you listen, you can hear everything that is committed to disc. Stunning, powerful sound quality.

5. The combination of the songs themselves, the lyrics, the performances and production.

How many times do you hear a recording that is a 10 plus on all of these levels? And, it has that aura of mystical magic that makes the great recordings "great"? Rarely. Very rarely. It's only happened a few times in my life, and probably yours too. I'm as jaded as they come, but this is a modern work of art.

That is why The World Won't End is The Record Of The Year. Don't take my word for it, not that you would. Whether you agree with my assessment or not is irrelevant. This is a recording that you shouldn't miss. You need this recording so you can experience it for yourself. Purchase the recording by clicking here.

Go to the Joe Pernice Interview by clicking here.

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