Pent Up! and “Up All Night”

My Pacific Northwest buds Pent Up! are back to rock the house once again with a brand new single. The track, titled “Up A ll Night,” is a rocker that would surely keep a crowd rocking through the eve. The first official drop of 2023, the guys have continued to keep themselves busy playing shows regularly around the Seattle area, and are quite immersed in the local scene there. Last time we checked in with Brendan Honeycutt (guitar/vocals), Jay Barret (Bass), and Nate Oelrich (drums); they were opening up for Tantric at the El Corozon. In addition to the last time AMS covered the band, the band’s lineup now includes a new member, Nick Kurtz, on guitar.

Released at the beginning of September, “Up All Night” was recorded in Seattle by engineer Michael Springer, at Peel Studio. The production is slick, capturing the energy that the band puts forth in their live shows beautifully. In no way an of abandonment of their signature cow-punk sound that I’m accustomed to, “Up All Night” is a distinct addition to the catalog in my opinion. It has a peppy, enjoyable, 90s pop punk vibe to it. I would describe the new single as a fun, catchy tune that lyrically embodies the concept of having “anxiety caused by keeping up with a friend without an off-switch.” Indeed on a personal level this speaks to me. I have a great deal of anxiety myself. I at some point sought out an emotional support animal (my pup Boris) and as luck would have it, he himself has severe (mostly separation) anxiety. Ahh yes. The irony. We trigger each other all day long. Forever and ever. Kinda jealous of how accessible his medication is for him now that I think about it. We have a good vet… better than mine… Look, I’m just trying to tell you that the song is relatable!

Check it out:

As you might recall, the band was formed during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the ‘lore goes, they attribute that along with a cooler of beer to the genesis of the band. Ah, unprecedented troubling times and beer, when will you ever not be a primary source of inspiration? Like so many of us, the members found themselves with abundant amount of time for contemplation and creation. It was within the midst of the pandemic’s isolation in 2021 that the high-energy, dynamic rock band, Pent Up! was formed.

As I was alluding to before, while I sense an upbeat type of Pop-Punk element on this particular track, it still resonates with me on a powerful cow-punk, high-energy level, similar to their earlier work on “Self-Titled” and “The End.” Perhaps what I’m hearing is more so just an evolution of that signature sound. Perhaps some of that in part to the additional guitarist and new member? Neither here nor there. Already being a somewhat long time fan, I’m excited to watch the band continue to evolve and release new music.

From left to right: Nate Oelrich, Nick Kurtz, Brendan Honeycutt, & Jay Barret

Here’s a cool live cut I found of the band performing this song at a place they frequent in the area, the Substation venue. I currently have an invite extended to the fellas to join me on the Sound Perspectives podcast, hopefully that’s something in store for the near future! Stay tuned for more info on that.

Pent Up!’s inspirations include the likes of Foo Fighters, Dinosaur Jr., Social Distortion, etc. and you can certainly hear portions of that in their music. The Misfits, Everclear, and The Gin Blossoms are some other artists that come to mind for as well. Pent Up! is a excellent recommendation for fans of those aforementioned bands.