The Wonder Years - The Greatest Generation First Impression Track By Track

Here it is! One of the most anticipated, if not THE most anticipated pop punk/whatever genre combination is finally available today to stream over here. The third album in The Wonder Year's story about their struggles through the ups and downs of life, continuing where Suburbia I've Given You All And Now I'm Nothing (Suburbia) left off. Here are my first impression's I'll be writing after every track. Why write about a first impression? Because I immediately want to articulate and share my thoughts on one of the biggest releases (in the scene) this year, and I want to see how those impressions compare after a week or so of repeated listens. So let's begin!

There, There

The introduction to The Greatest Generation is everything I wanted it to be.  The song starts off softly with Dan Campbell (Soupy) singing in his softest croon yet. It isn't long before the full band jumps in with guitar riffs and drumming that compliment and enhance Soupy's vocal melodies. I already want to press repeat to hear this one again.

Passing Through A Screen Door

"Passing Through A Screen Door" was the first song The Wonder Year's released from the new album, and with good reason as the track is akin to the sound of Surburbia. The chorus has a lot of  energy and will be a blast to sing-a-long to live. The best moment for me is the slow down in the bridge right before Soupy screams 'Jesus Christ I'm 26."

We Could Die Like This

The guitar work from Matt Brasch and Casey Caveliere are the real of hook of the song. The bridge shows the band experimenting with a post-hardcore infused bridge (breakdown?) that seems inspired by Thursday's Full Collapse or Finch's What It Is To Burn, which to my chagrin works incredibly well; it's going to be killer live.

Dismantling Summer

The guitars sound like summer, and I already have the lines "I haven't seen a heartbreak until now" stuck in my heard. I can definitely see myself getting hooked on the hooks in this song.

The Bastards, The Vultures, The Wolves

"I'M ANGRY LIKE I'M EIGHTEEN AGAIN!" What a great introduction to the track. I really love the bridge to the second verse. Probably my favorite chorus so far, and the ending is going to be so epic live.

The Devil In My Bloodstream

A piano ballad with Soupy and an unknown female vocalist trading off verses. The song is a nice change of pace and has a build up that makes sense in context of the song. It really shows how versatile The Wonder Years has come and I hope they continue to experiment along these lines.

Teenage Parents

The guitar riffs and melodies play out like a sped up version of  "Hey Jealousy" by the Gin Blossoms. With Soupy sharing some intimate and personal childhood moments with the listener that are both relatable and emotionally moving.

Chaser

The chorus is infectious, uplifting and inspiring, the guitar solo is a nice touch as well. Though overall it lacks some of the spurs of creativity in the tracks before it.

An American Religion

An American Religion has a lot in common with The Wonder Year's previous works but the dual vocals from Soupy and who I believe is Josh Martin give the track an identity of it's own, I really enjoy Martin's rough vocals I think they compliment Soupy well. "An American Religion" like "Chaser" before it lacks is more classic Wonder Years without the inventiveness of the earlier tracks.

A Raindance In Traffic

The gang chanted "woah ohs" are contagious and the vocal inflections are exciting. The whole band is pretty remarkable here, the lyrics really hit the mark for me on a personal level.

Madelyn 

I don't know how I feel about this song yet, I like the vocal melody, but at the same time it's kind of harsh and too redundant for how brief the song is. I'll have to spend more time with this one to see how it bodes.

Cul-de-sac

After a single listen I already love this track, it will probably be my favorite. The ending is epic and the build up is executed well. Some excellent instrumentation from the band.

I Want To Sell Out My Funeral

The last track of The Greatest Generation and the finale of The Wonder Years story about the hardships of life. After three albums and nearly forty songs this is the conclusion to their saga. I would have been happy with cul-de-sacs closing the album, but The Wonder Years once again blow expectations out of the water with a truly grand closure. The final song is a near perfect way for the band to end their album. You have to listen to the whole album to get the full effect of the song, trust me it will pay off.

So there you have it, my first impression of The Greatest Generation check back in a few days for the full review.