''Oar On, Penelope!'' is the sixteenth studio album by American pop rock band

The Minus 5 The Minus 5 is an American pop rock band headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. Band history McCaughey formed the band in 1993 as a side project with Buck, Jon Auer ...

. It was released on May 30, 2025, through

Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Fountains of Wayne ...

, in CD, LP and digital formats.

Background

Produced by

Scott McCaughey Scott Lewis McCaughey is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and the leader of the Seattle and Portland-based bands The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5. He was also an auxiliary member of the American rock band R.E.M. from 199 ...

and mixed by

Ed Stasium Ed Stasium is an American record producer and audio engineer, who has worked on albums by the Ramones, Talking Heads, Motörhead, the Smithereens and Living Colour. Early life and education Raised in Green Brook Township, New Jersey, and gradua ...

, ''Oar On, Penelope!'', was preceded by ''Calling Cortez'' in 2023 and was noted as a

college rock College rock is rock music played on student-run university and college campus radio stations located in the United States and Canada in the 1980s and 1990s. The stations' playlists were often created by students who avoided the mainstream rock p ...

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 AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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 Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' remarked, "Ed Stasium, the veteran producer of

the Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

, gives these raw sessions a galvanizing roar: this is

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 Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

. *

Linda Pitmon Linda Pitmon is an American drummer known for her work with the supergroup the Baseball Project (with Peter Buck and Mike Mills, both members of R.E.M., Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows and Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate), Steve Wynn ...

– drums *

Kurt Bloch Kurt Bloch (born August 28, 1960) is an American songwriter, guitarist, engineer and record producer. Music career Bloch is best known as songwriter and lead guitarist of Fastbacks, and is a member of The Young Fresh Fellows. Record Production ...

– lead guitar, mastering *

– vocals, guitar, piano, bass, production, artwork, recording *

Debbi Peterson Deborah Mary Peterson (born on August 22, 1961) is an American musician and the drummer of the band The Bangles. She sang lead vocals on two of the band's released singles, "Going Down to Liverpool" (1984) and " Be with You" (1989). She is the y ...

– vocals *

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.; he played the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his caree ...

– bass, 12-string * Spencer Tweedy – drums on "Bison Queen" and "Falling Like Jets" *

Patterson Hood Patterson David Hood (born March 24, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter and co-founder of the band Drive-By Truckers. Early life Hood was born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the son of Jan Patterson Adams and David Hood, the longtime bassist ...

– backing vocals on "Let the Rope Hold, Cassie Lee" and "Blow in My Bag" *

– guitar, tambourine, mixing, recording, engineering * Mary Winzig – artwork *

Kevn Kinney Kevin Kinney, known professionally as Kevn Kinney (born March 12, 1961),"The Baseball Project at Wux ...

– artwork * Nathan Golub – artwork * Johnny Sangster – recording * Steve Drizos – recording

References

{{The Minus 5 2025 albums Yep Roc Records albums The Minus 5 albums College rock albums