Rockfreaks.net

The Wonder Years

The Hum Goes On Forever

Written by: PP on 11/12/2022 13:41:59

"I don't wanna die, but maybe I do", croons singer Dan Campbell on opener "Doors I Painted Shut" in his usual whiny fashion that has come to spearhead emo over the years. It's clear that the lyrical topics have taken a turn towards the more introspective on their seventh album "The Hum Goes On Forever". Drenched in emotionally-charged melancholia, the record sounds almost exactly as you would expect The Wonder Years to sound in their modern iteration. Anthemic, loud choruses are contrasted against quieter verses in classic quiet/loud fashion, often referencing their earlier work whether via song titles or the lyrical content.

The band has always been at its best when Campbell is let loose in punk-fueled glory of shouted emotional harmonies. You can look all the way back to sophomore album "Suburbia..." to find moments like "Came Out Swinging" and "Local Man Ruins Everything", back-chilling deliveries of the struggles of main street Americans. "The Paris Of Nowhere" is such an example - here its "Throw me into the Delawareeeee..." segments are infectiously catchy while modeling real socioeconomic issues in the US in a nostalgic fashion. This song is The Wonder Years at their very best. Similarly, "Oldest Daughter" is maddeningly catchy with its "Madelyn, I don't think that I'll see you again" choruses, even if it's otherwise a very standard fare The Wonder Years song.

There are a couple of songs where the band tries something new. "Cardinals II", for instance, attempts at a Gaslight Anthem-esque Americana ballad before launching into signature style The Wonder Years chorus. "Summer Clothes" is an indie-flavored ballad featuring quiet nostalgia, while "Songs About Death" has an eerie The Dangerous Summer vibe surrounding it. None of these are particularly interesting in The Wonder Years context, unfortunately.

"Lost In the Light" is where the band goes high and explosive with a larger-than-life chorus looking back at their youth: "When I was seventeen, I wrote a song about how I'm drinking kerosene, to light a fire in my gut". It's the kind of track that allows the band to perform at larger stages or festivals given its far-reaching nature.

"Low Tide" on the other hand is a little bit like listening to the band on autopilot, which is incidentally how "The Hum Goes On Forever" overall comes across. It's the same melancholic choruses with little variety to past output, where it all begins to sound somewhat...dated? The fact that it's referencing the same old "the one who ruins everything" doesn't work as the band imagined it, instead sounding like they are out of ideas. The passion that once was the driving force behind the band's success just doesn't feel the same seven albums down.

That being said, "The Hum Goes On Forever" is still a solid album. There are a few truly great cuts on it that will live beyond the record and several solid cuts that will appeal exactly to their fan base. But it is the lack of freshness that keeps it from being a great album. Maybe it's just me, but having listened to these guys for well over a decade and a half now, I'm just not feeling these songs the same way anymore.

Download: The Paris Of Nowhere, Oldest Daughter, Wyatt's Song (Your Name), Lost In The Light, Low Tide
For the fans of: Real Friends, Spanish Love Songs, Hot Mulligan, Neck Deep
Listen: Facebook

Release date 23.09.2022
Hopeless Records