The Penske File Hold On to the Glow of Youth on New Album, 'Reprieve,' Featuring Anthemic Lead Single "Almost Young"
Hamilton, Ontario punk rock lifers The Penske File return with Reprieve, a cathartic, high-energy collection of songs about aging, change, and clinging to the light. The album captures the trio’s sharpened bond and renewed creative spark, with lead single “Almost Young” serving as both a thematic and emotional centrepiece.
While “Almost Young” offers one of the record’s most personal and reflective moments, Reprieve is far from one-note. Written in the wake of renewed touring energy after 2023’s Half Glow, the album swings between blistering punk catharsis, brooding rock anthems, and spacious, melodic reflections. The Penske File set out to capture the communal fire of their live show on record, tracking drums, guitar, and bass live-off-the-floor at Halo Studios before layering vocals and guitar overdubs at their longtime best friend and producer, Adam Michael’s Shrimp Studios.
“This record taught me that creating a body of work with my best friends feels like home in a unique and pronounced way that can’t be replicated,” says frontman Travis Miles. “When I can bring something to the rehearsal space that excites both [bass/vocals] James [Hall] and [drums/vocals] Alex [Standen], after all these years, it feels like I’ve struck gold.”
Listen to Reprieve in full HERE. Watch the official “Almost Young” video HERE.
At its core, the record’s focus track, “Almost Young,” is about holding on to the tenacity and glow of youth as it begins to slip away. Written in the midst of conversations about having children, Miles reflects on fear, change, and self-discovery before arriving at a hopeful realization: growing older doesn’t mean losing what’s beautiful about youth. “It’s like saying, we’re not getting old … we’re almost young,” he says.
The track evolved through intense collaboration. Standen and Hall shaped the vocal hooks and harmonies, while the band’s friend Chuck Coles penned the killer guitar lick that runs throughout. Michael encouraged restraint in producing the arrangement, keeping the focus on the song’s most resonant parts. The result is a soaring punk rock anthem that Miles first sketched out in fear and later listened back to with joy as his daughter crawled on the floor beneath the speakers.
Forever chasing shadows
Almost young
Across its 12 tracks, Reprieve dives deep into themes of transition, aging, and resilience, but always circles back to light and connection. “This album is about holding on to the light in your life – chasing dreams and holding onto the ones you love, celebrating moments that are worth celebrating; laughing in the face of sadness, hardship and death,” Miles explains. “It's about cutting through the heavy noise of existence in this world and finding moments of reprieve that make life worth living.”
Recorded with sweat, tears, and light beers, Reprieve is both a love letter to the youthful spirit that first sparked the band two decades ago, and a testament to how it endures.
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