“I’m reading up on black holes, hoping one might take me in.“
The Wonder Years are one of those quintessential new age pop-punk bands. You couldn’t attend a Warped Tour without seeing two-dozen “I’m not sad anymore” shirts. They might have mostly strayed from their pop-punk roots, but the heart of the band is alive and well. And as of this Friday, September 23rd, their newest effort The Hum Goes on Forever will release, showing just what that heart is made of.
At the core of The Wonder Years is vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell’s lyricism. It’s led to countless tattoos, Facebook statuses and aforementioned t-shirts. And the fact that his lyricism has remained so poignant and vulnerable across the band’s tenured seventeen-year career is a testament to his skill as a writer, and that facet remains a bright spot across the entirety of Hum. “I don’t want to die, at least not without you” opens the record over some mellowly strummed chords on “Doors I Painted Shut”. The band’s large discography has a whole lot of slower tracks within it, and this worthy addition is great start to the album. It ramps up a bit, but mostly serves as an opening to the record rather than a track in isolation.
“Oldest Daughter” is more of an aggressive track with some dynamic chord progression, and a passionate vocal performance by Soupy. It starts strong and doesn’t come close to letting up. This was the first single released leading up to Hum and it certainly piqued my interest for this release after Sister Cities, their 2018 LP, disappointed me a little. This leads into “Cardinals II”, which is the sequel to the track of the same name on 2016’s No Closer to Heaven — my favorite album by the band. “Cardinals II” has some psychedelic lead riffs in the background over hypnotic drums. The back half of the track even has a dissonant breakdown to it that they pull off really well. To round off a strong trio of tracks comes “The Paris of Nowhere”, where Soupy exclaims “We’re building shrines to St. Nick Foles…” which, as an American Football fan, is hilarious and very apt for a Philly-based band. The track just comes across genuine and a bit whimsical, and combined with a great chorus, it’s a high point on the record.
There are more than a couple duds on Hum too, though. “Wyatt’s Song (Your Name)” is one that has an up-tempo chorus, but I can’t help but find it grating to listen to. The bridge is a bit meandering too, making the track overall feel a bit pointless. I was confused that this was chosen as a single during the album’s rollout. “Summer Clothes” had potential, as it has a sweet sentiment to it with some good imagery woven into the lyrics, but it fails to build into anything fruitful other than a solid ballad. “Lost in the Lights”, as well as “Songs About Death”, brings back a bit of that darker, dissonant tone from earlier, but as a more extended motif. This is a boon for the tracks, but that’s not enough to make them entirely engaging. Similarly, “Low Tide” has that Soupy lyricism that is holding this album together, but you can get this level of instrumentation from almost any band in the scene.
The album does pick up towards the tail end, starting with “Laura & the Beehive”. It has this lo-fi, quaint sound to it that I think ends up being a more successful sound for the band at this point in their career. Soupy’s contributions are amplified as he’s able to have his voice at the forefront of the track, instead of slightly muddled behind these empty chords. Following it, “Old Friends Like Lost Teeth” has a bit more punch to it on the instrumentation front compared to the other tracks of its like. There’s even some screamed vocals thrown in there on the bridge which are a nice touch.
The closer, “You’re the Reason I Don’t Want the World to End”, is definitely the most emotional track. Soupy really gives it his all here, crafting an absolutely perfect bridge, both lyrically and via his vocal performance. There’s a bit more pep to the step of the instrumentation here, which is largely not the case across the breadth of the record. This seems like the blueprint the band should’ve used for more of the tracklist, as it’s undoubtedly one of the strongest ones.
As I’ve expressed, The Hum Goes on Forever does not do enough on the instrumental front for an engaging listen. Soupy’s performance is consistent with his past endeavors, perhaps even better, but that fails to make Hum one of the better releases of the year. I think there’s a lot to like here for die-hard fans, but not the average pop-punk listener.
5/10
The Hum Goes On Forever is out this Friday via Hopeless Records can be pre-ordered here.