Oar On, Penelope! is the sixteenth studio album by American pop rock band The Minus 5. It was released on May 30, 2025, through Yep Roc Records, in CD, LP and digital formats.
Background Produced by Scott McCaughey and mixed by Ed Stasium, Oar On, Penelope!, was preceded by Calling Cortez in 2023 and was noted as a college rock album. It consists of twelve tracks ranging between one and three minutes each, with a total runtime of approximately thirty-seven minutes. The album's lead single, "Words & Birds", was released on February 10, 2025.
Reception
The album was described by AllMusic as "the sort of spontaneously joyous record that reminds us it's a great thing he's still with us and making music."
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Mojo remarked, "Ed Stasium, the veteran producer of the Ramones, gives these raw sessions a galvanizing roar: this is college rock meant to be blasted over the radio, a record as vigorous as it is joyous," and assigned the album a four-star rating.
Bud Scoppa of Uncut gave it a rating of seven out of ten and noted in his review, "Long-running side project adds another branch to its twisted family tree."
Track listing
Personnel Credits for Oar On, Penelope! adapted from Bandcamp.
Linda Pitmon – drums Kurt Bloch – lead guitar, mastering Scott McCaughey – vocals, guitar, piano, bass, production, artwork, recording Debbi Peterson – vocals Peter Buck – bass, 12-string Spencer Tweedy – drums on "Bison Queen" and "Falling Like Jets" Patterson Hood – backing vocals on "Let the Rope Hold, Cassie Lee" and "Blow in My Bag" Ed Stasium – guitar, tambourine, mixing, recording, engineering Mary Winzig – artwork Kevn Kinney – artwork Nathan Golub – artwork Johnny Sangster – recording Steve Drizos – recording
References