San Diego powerpop quartet Pensive is well known for their melodic sing-along songs rooted in the California pop-punk scene that spawned Green Day, The Offspring, and San Diego superstars blink-182. Having previously released two EPs, which they describe with tongue-in-cheek charm as "diet punk," Pensive expects to raise a few eyebrows with their new album Artifacts. Although continuing to embrace the naturally infectious tunes that make for a lively, energetic stage performance that is the hallmark of these California boys, Pensive promises that Artifacts will bring to the fore songs with new musical influences that might be unexpected for fans who know the band well. "We aren't losing our pop sensibilities," explains lead vocalist Julio Godoy. "The new songs are melody-driven, and we still love a good hook. But we think the guitar and drum work underlying them is stronger, more complex and interesting. There's a more powerful sonic quality in the songs, and we think that better reflects the energy we feel when we play live." Joining Godoy and guitarist Patrick Smith, founding members who met in high school, new drummer Dave Thueson, a 20 year old phenom from Chicago, and new bassist Billy Formella, a green-eyed bleach blond charmer from Atlanta, have sparked that charismatic Pensive energy into the stratosphere. In a perfect evolution from previous releases, Pensive teams once again with producer Will Salazar, making Artifacts a fusion of bittersweet poetic stories, dense vocal harmonies, and post-emo rock guitars, twisted up with a razor's edge when least expected. Deemed "stunning" by InsomniaRadio.net's Jason Evangelho, the web's premier podcasting guru and connoisseur of off-the-radar underground bands, Evangehlo believes that "Artifacts is destined to bring this independent band some long looks." Having spent a full three years promoting their successful independent release EP Something About the Stars, Pensive is eager to take new music out to its loyal fans on their CD Release tour, which last 100 days beginning with the release of Artifacts. "We were lucky that the six songs on our EP had such staying power," says guitarist Smith. "Those songs brought us a lot of exposure in ways we never anticipated, and a couple of the songs are such fan favorites that we'll still play them live this fall. But we're eager to see what our fans think about something new from Pensive." Thus the quick return to the road with the completion of the new album. "We're always on the road. We were home in San Diego long enough to finish writing the new songs and get into the recording studio this summer," Godoy remarks. "2007 will be our busiest year so far, but we loved the push day after day toward accomplishing our vision with the new songs. Then the road was calling again!" The gypsy life, embracing the road to spread the word with a van and trailer, is considered obsolete by many upcoming bands enamored by the ease and power of the internet to carry songs around the world instantly. But Pensive reels in the physical experience of live performances. Smith continues. "The fans we find in all the small venues across the country, who stand at the foot of the stage, singing our songs with us, hanging out after the show in the parking lot sharing the secrets of their towns, those fans are ours for life. The night we meet for the first time is unforgettable. We dig MySpace, but a song heard there just doesn't seep into the soul in the same way." Perhaps an odd sentiment from a band that found its early success on the internet while still in high school. Something About the Stars track one, fan favorite "The 3rd of July," became the quintessential cyber-hit, first bringing the band international recognition on the Original MP3.com. The hooky boy-loses-girl heartbreaker racked up some 170,000 plays and topped the world wide Pop Punk Chart 76 days. While kids couldn't get the song out of their heads, Pensive rolled by pop-punk powerhouse bands like Sum 41, Rufio, and Bowling for Soup, even popping onto the Top 40 Chart for 48 days, where "The 3rd of July" at its peak reached #14. "Today most kids don't know about the original MP3.com, but when we started everybody lived and died by that site," explains Smith. "It was as big back then to us as MySpace is to kids today. Yeah, this is a bit geeky to know, but back then, MP3.com had just about a million unique visitors every day. It was a big deal, and that's one of the reasons we're still really proud to have accomplished so much on that site when we were just a baby band." It seems that much of the emotional impact of Artifacts is grounded in the band's own struggle between discontent and anticipation as the upheavals continue in today's music industry. Pensive's embrace of the independent non-label climb to the top holds great appeal to the post-emo sensibilities of young aficionados navigating the brave new cyberworld of music. Says Godoy, "we like to say that kids today are A & R, they find the bands they love. There are no gatekeepers anymore. We like that and think it's a great time to be a band. We like holding our futures in our own hands." Smith continues, "This will seem like a speech in debate class or something, but the album title is inspired by the changes we're all witnessing in music today, the evolution. The CD is on its deathbed. Record stores will soon be extinct. Radios don't play in kids' rooms anymore, music comes through computer speakers, chosen by kids, not disc jockeys. Labels used to be known by name and worshiped, their t-shirts worn in every high school hallway. Kids these days aren't loyal to labels. Pro Tools has made everyone a musician in their own garages, and recording studios and music producers are bypassed. Music is becoming a cyber experience only. The time is coming when we'll no longer buy, own, and hold in our hands an album as a carefully crafted artistic product with artwork and photos. Songs will stand alone in digital online vending machines. The pieces of art that were albums will be gone, artifacts of the past." A passionate topic for a band finding its way, as the old gives way to the new.