“Creativity takes courage.” The words of famed French artist Henri Matisse perfectly describes Art History, the third full length album by New England modernist punk trio Perennial, to be released June 7th via Ernest Jenning Record Co. Having been described as post-hardcore/dance punk with 60″s Brit Pop thrown in for good measure, Perennial can be summed up in one word: fun. Like their previous 2 LPs, the 12 tracks come in at a short and sweet 21 minutes long. The title track Art History, which happens to be the shortest song on the album, starts us off at a blistering pace, with an infectious groove that while lasting only barely a minute, it’s long enough to get you up on your feet and get embedded in your brain immediately. That seems to be Perennial’s MO. Like a flash mob featuring Vin Diesel, the songs come in and out fast and furious. By using such an interesting and short song structure, there are no wasted measures, everything is done with purpose and intent. 

Speaking of purpose and intent, Perennial’s aesthetic is just as important to the band as the music itself. They are artists in every sense of the word.  A quick glance at the bands social media pages, and you get a sense of how important the visuals are to their entire package. Abstract and unique, just like the music it represents. A band like Perennial could easily come across as a bit pretentious, fortunately this is not the case. The music is so catchy and carefully crafted, it’s hard not to love them. 

Art History is impossible to put into a box. A cornucopia of sounds ranging from electropop, surf rock, psychedelia, jazz & punk, all blended into a sound that’s uniquely all its own. Electric organist/vocalist Chelsey Hahn, guitarist/vocalist Chad Jewett and drummer Ceej Dioguardi create manic music that flows together perfectly, from one song to the next. This does make it a little difficult to differentiate the songs on Art History, but that seems to be intentional. This record is best experienced in full, as the sum is definitely greater than its parts. That’s not to say there aren’t any standout tracks, as closing out the record is Perennial Meets The Wolfman, which is as ridiculously awesome as its title suggests. The band screams “Meet the wolfman at the sock hop” repeatedly to end the album. I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I’ll meet them there!

Perennial’s abstract sound may not be for everyone, but if you’re looking for something unique and different to get the blood flowing and get your feet moving this summer, Art History is the musical equivalent to a 5 Hour Energy shot. 

Score 8.4/10

Release Date 6/7/24

Track List:

Art History

Tambourine On Snare

Action Painting

Jet Set Mono

A Is For Abstract

Up-tight

How The Ivy Crawls

Tiger Technique

Mouthful Of Bees

B Is For Brutalism

The Mystery Tone

Perennial Meets The Wolfman

Review by Jeremy Schmidt