Last year right before Christmas break, I went into my local mall to look for old used records and CDs at the music store. I stumbled upon a new album by a band I had vaguely heard of (thanks to New Found Glory) for the fair price of $6.99. I mulled it over: was it worth two beers?
I bought the album but didn't listen to it for a couple of weeks. I finally forced myself to put it in the CD player on my trip back to school, and immediately was interested. The first song on this album is "Came Out Swinging" and that's exactly what the album did. This is still my hands-down, holding nothing back, favorite song by The Wonder Years. "I spent the winter writing songs about getting better, and if I'm being honest...I'm getting there."
Next came "Woke Up Older", and after listening to the first verse and chorus of this song, I was almost crying crocodile tears of happiness and illegally whipped out my cell phone to tweet about how much I already loved this band. And I am not an impulsive person.
The third song is "Local Man Ruins Everything," which is also super catchy and just all together amazing. The next few songs I also like, one being slower, another having a super catchy chorus, and all of them just being awesome in general. "I Won't Say the Lord's Prayer" was an interesting one for me, because I am fairly religious; however, it didn't turn me off, it actually made me think. It's not really about religion, or maybe it's not just about religion. It's about thinking for yourself, and about not believing in something simply because you've been told to believe it. It's a great message, however it's presented.
"Don't Let Me Cave In" is one of the lead tracks from the record, and it is pretty great, but I think there are better songs on the album. My second favorite song comes in at second to last track-wise, "Hoodie Weather." The lyrics ring true to me, and the chorus is so, so catchy. "And Now I'm Nothing" is also very catchy and finished off the album nicely.
When all is said and done, if you are a fan of punk, alternative, or pop punk music and you're not listening to The Wonder Years, you're making a mistake. It's taken me a while to write on this blog since my last post, and that's because it was becoming more of a hassle than a joy--I was listening to some bands I really didn't like, and then recommending them because they weren't necessarily bad. Now I'm back, and I'm telling the world that I love The Wonder Years. Not to be confused with the 90s television show starring Fred Savage...
Their latest album is not only spectacular music, but listening to it as a whole can be truly thought-provoking if you let it.
Go. Buy Suburbia, and while you're at it, buy "The Upsides," the album that preceeding this one. Top recommendations from both albums if you're just starting to get into them: "Came Out Swinging," "Logan Circle," "Melrose Diner," "Hoodie Weather," "Local Man Ruins Everything."
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