The Penske File - A Restless Symphony (Cover Artwork)

The Penske File

A Restless Symphony (2013)

Young Hearts Music


The Penske File are an excellent definition of what would be the DIY approach to Canadian Punk Rock.
A Restless Symphony is a melodic folk/punk account of the band's experiences of the aforementioned stuff they have been up to with 13 tracks, each with a different story to tell. Take "I've Been Thinking," most likely the best song on the whole album that starts off with "Yeah I've been thinking about what the hell to apply myself to, taking into consideration all the things that I love to do." A common crossroads we've all been through at one point or another whether it is a career decision, moving to another city or simply going back to school for something but for them it ends up as touring and playing in their band with the lyrics "Like hopping in a van to spread apart the real from fiction, or at least what I construe as the colours inconsistent to black and white." The ending outro definitely ends in a melody that makes you want to rewind and repeat continuously.

"The Valley" is another great folk/punk track very reminiscent of a Billy Bragg, Frank Turner, Johnny Hobo and The Freight Trains mix. It's very explosive, in your face but with such a grace that can be sung in a slower tempo around a campfire or even a piano. The song describes the difference between living in suburbs like Burlington vs. the city with lyrics like "In the centre of this suburb there's a black creek where the kids get whitled down and at the edge of the water there's a seamless hint of autumn in the clouds."

Everyone has different experiences with city and suburbs but this may explain why they prefer to be based in Burlington as opposed to a city like Hamilton or even Toronto, plus if it's not broken why fix it?