About Time is the third studio album by Pennywise, released on June 13, 1995. Although the album was not a commercial success, it is widely considered to be one of Pennywise's best releases, and it includes their concert staples, "Peaceful Day", "Perfect People", "Every Single Day", and "Same Old Story". About Time was also the first Pennywise album to chart in Billboard; the release peaked at number 96. Most of the album follows the theme of problems with time: fear of it passing, controlling it and accepting it. About Time is the final Pennywise album to feature bass playerJason Thirsk, who committed suicide on July 29, 1996. After debating whether to break up, or to move on with a new bass player, Pennywise decided to hire a new bassist, Randy Bradbury, who would stay with the band permanently.
Background and recording
Frontman Jim Lindbergrejoined Pennywise in 1992, after a temporary hiatus, releasing the second albumUnknown Road in 1993. Although Unknown Road failed to chart in Billboard, the band enjoyed moderate success and gained supporting slots on national and world tours with bands such as The Offspring. Due to constant touring and appearances on snowboarding and surfing videos, the album sold around 200,000 copies. In the latter part of 1994, Pennywise began writing and recording their third album, entitled About Time. They entered Total Access Recording in Redondo Beach that December and recorded their new album over a three-month period. When they were in the midst of recording About Time, Pennywise was courted by several major labels, who approached the band following the unexpected multi-platinum breakthrough success of Green Day and The Offspring, but Pennywise rejected the idea of signing to a major label and decided to stay with Epitaph. About Time was the final Pennywise studio album to feature bassist Jason Thirsk; however, it was not their last album to contain songs written by him. Thirsk was still alive when writing for Full Circle began, and co-wrote some previously-unreleased songs that would eventually appear on the band's 2014 album Yesterdays.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Paul Henderson awards the album 4.5 out of 5 stars and states: "The band's fourth release in as many years finds it functioning as a full-strength unit, cranking out searing hardcore laced with positive but leery messages and ideals. While the music and message remain essentially the same as their previous releases, increasing depth and maturity begin to take hold in both these areas."
