Stereo Six: The Penske File Pick Some of Their All-Time Favourite Albums

With the release of their latest album, Reprieve, The Penske File has really found their groove. This is a nicely put-together, high-octane smattering of songs that emphasizes the trio’s impressive songwriting chemistry and unique creative bond. Even after many years together, the band members relished in the fun and frenzy of recording with one another. In many ways, Reprieve was a labour of love for them, a writing and recording process that brought them even closer together. When they got down to writing songs for the album, there had already been a five-year gap since they wrote the songs for their previous record, Half Glow.

As a result, the band members were raring to go when they actually got back down to business. By this time, they had accumulated many song ideas, some of which you might consider unconventional given their previous musical output. The band made a deliberate effort to branch out and not remake Half Glow. They wanted to make songs that were reminiscent of what got them interested in punk rock in the first place. But at the same time, they also wanted to produce material that was new, exciting, and unconventional. At this point, The Penske File is a self-confident bunch, reassured in how they want to write and record.

Today, we are joined by the band for Stereo Six as they share six albums that influenced the shape and texture of their new album, Reprieve.

The Penske File ‘Reprieve’ album artwork

1. Attack in Black – Marriage (2007, Dine Alone Records)

“This is unarguably discussed as the perfect album by everyone in The Penske File. It blends genre elements of a lot of the stuff we dig in a way that feels effortless and wholly complete. I guess it’s a rock n’ roll album, but there are punk, folk, country, and indie elements throughout, and yet it all feels very congruent. It is a thematically and sonically cohesive album that just lives in its own space so well, front to back, and although it came out in 2008, I think, undoubtedly before its time, it never gets old.

“We had it on in the van the other day on a long drive up north to Timmins, Ontario, and it just felt perfect: cutting through the Canadian Shield on the highway, watching the changing leaves whir by while this blared through the speakers.”

2. The Flatliners – Cavalcade (2010, Fat Wreck Chords)

“We grew up as ska punk kids in Southern Ontario and worshipped The Flatliners. As our musical tastes began to evolve and change, it seems like the Flats’ albums changed along with them. This record came out in 2010, when The Penske File really began as a band under that name. Our best friend and former second guitarist, Chris, had just tragically passed away, we had just graduated high school, and the three of us clung to each other, to our music and to our group of close friends whose bond strengthened and solidified in mourning of our lost brother.

“The summer after high school graduation, when all this was going on, is kind of the time I look at as the beginning of the band that we are today. Chris’ spirit carried us along as we searched for meaning in the faces of our friends and in the sounds of our own fledgling songs. Throughout all of this, Calvalcade was a constancy: the soundtrack to our youthful summer of grief, community, and searching.”

3. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – The Nashville Sound (2017, Southeastern)

“Most Jason Isbell albums feel like a masterclass on songwriting. I started listening to him during the pandemic, and this is the first album of his I really connected with. I just love his songwriting and feel like it has definitely inspired mine on the newest Penske album: influencing my sense of structure and melody, as well as encouraging me to dive more into the directly personal for lyrical content instead of leaning into character-driven manifestations of my inner self, as I have tended to do much of on past albums.”

4. The Lawrence Arms – Oh Calcutta (2006, Fat Wreck Chords)

“This is a near-perfect punk rock album. The songs are great, the sound is great, and the production choices are great. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I recall someone explaining to me that the band wrote this album with a concept in mind that they were trying to write the perfect album for their 16-year-old selves, and it definitely has a more aggressive snarl to it than a lot of their other albums, on the whole.

“When we began writing our newest album, Reprieve, this concept was in the back of my mind, not as something to wholly commit to, but as a periphery audience in the back of my mind whom I was writing for (myself at 16). I made a conscious effort on some songs to retain some of the fervency of bands and albums that had me stoked on punk rock 15 years ago.”

5. The Weakerthans – Left and Leaving (2000, G7 Welcoming Committee Records)

“This is another album that has frequented the speakers on the band van since we started touring way back in 2013. It always makes me think of driving through the Canadian prairies for the first time. Another near-perfect album. John K Samson’s lyricism is incredible. The second track on this album, ‘Aside,’ is one that I earmarked while conceptualizing the sonic landscape of the new Penske record. It’s raw, without many bells or whistles, it feels like you’re in the room with the band; yet, the vocals are crisp and undeniably up front, allowing Samson’s storytelling to lead the charge.”

6. The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America (2006, Vagrant)

“Another album we all probably look at as a perfect piece of work. The loose narrative arc is something that has informed our writing style on past albums for sure. It just rocks so hard front to back and never gets old. Great album, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s had the most air time in the van over the years. Great listening for driving through uncharted territory.”