Album Review: The Greatest Generation by The Wonder Years

Image from Wikipedia

Words by: Savanah Ruiz

Hey, everybody! Today I thought I’d review one of my current favorite bands, The Wonder Years. The Wonder Years is a pop punk band that goes far beyond the common pop punk themes, and has a way of making you want to get out of the house and live a little. When I heard that they were gonna be at warped tour last year, I gave them a quick listen and quickly became obsessed with their songs of growing up, dealing with life, and other feelings that all of us have gone through or will go through at one point in our lives. On to the album, their newest album, The Greatest Generation, which came out in 2013 features 13 songs of amazing lyrical variety, and will not disappoint you if you’re looking for a great summer album that’s a little different from your usual summer tunes. If you’re unfamiliar with The Wonder Years and want an album of theirs to try out, I highly recommend this one (along with Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing). The Wonder Years are on the Vans Warped Tour currently and recently announced that they will be releasing a new album.

Track by Track:

1. There, There- This song is about not fitting it, and apologizing for being quirky. With lyrics like “I’m sorry I don’t laugh at the right times” and “I’m awkward and nervous” you really sympathize with whoever wrote these lyrics. Whenever I hear this song, I always get emotional because of the strong emotions in this song and I have to say this is my favorite song from The Wonder Years because of it’s beautiful lyrics, and the way it captures feeling alone without saying that directly. Overall, great intro, great song, and great lyrics.
2. Passing Through A Screen Door- This song is about reflecting on your life, and feeling like you’re somehow behind in life due to your age. While I can’t really relate to this song, it’s still a very good song and has a great beat to it, making it enjoyable to anyone. I love the lyrics “it’s all a lie what they say about stability” and “I was kinda hoping you’d stay”.
3. We Could Die Like This- This song is a great song that features a lot of imagery. You can tell that this song is very personal, since it describes the writer’s view of the suburbs. This song also talks about someone leaving with lyrics such as “I know you’re gonna go” and “I left because you asked me to”. Overall, this song tells a story, although I can’t really describe what that story is.
4. Dismantling Summer- This song is in my opinion about a summer romance that involves someone being sick. It is another song that tells a story, and does so in a beautiful way. I love the guitars in this along with the lyrics.
5. The Bastards, The Vultures, The Wolves- This song has a lot of anger and raw emotion in my point of view, and I love the drums on this track. This song to me is about building something and not wanting to let go of it. This is another song where there is a lot of imagery that tells a story but is hard to translate. Overall, it’s a great track.
6. The Devil In My Bloodstream- This song is a slower song, and it’s definitely one of my favorites off the album. This song talks about death, and feeling weak, and is great if you’re looking for a song to lose yourself listening to. This song is another song with a lot of raw emotion, and I’d highly recommend it to people who haven’t heard it yet.
7. Teenage Parents- As you can probably tell, this song is about reflecting on a difficult childhood and having teenage parents, and going through hard times as a family. The repetition of “all we had were hand me downs” leads listeners to believe that the writer’s family was quite poor, and they faced a lot of financial difficulties. Overall, it’s a nice song with good guitar work, and it tells a story that a lot of people can relate to.
8. Chaser- This song is another one of my favorites, although I can’t describe why. This song has a great mix of vocal styles, and an amazing guitar solo. It’s a great track, and I get this song stuck in my head a lot.
9. An American Religion (FSF)- This song to me is a short song that is about feeling like everyone’s only remembering the bad parts of you, and it’s a nice little track.
10. A Raindance In Traffic- This song is about being in a rut and just feeling like you can’t take anymore. With lyrics like “the fighter in me must’ve died” and “”I spend six months now feeling like dead weight” you can tell that the writer feels washed out, making this song very relatable for a lot of those people who just want to lay in their bed and hibernate for a bit.
11. Madelyn- this song is acoustic, and I can’t see it being performed any other way. This song to me is about falling in love with someone and wanting to help them since you know them so well. I love the lyrics “I share your hate for this world” and “I don’t think that there’s someone coming to save us”. Overall, this song is beautiful and I’d love to see it live.
12. Cul-de-sac- This song is about losing a childhood friend, and reflecting on the times shared with that person along with the future you thought you’d have with that person. This song is another relatable track for anyone who has lost someone close to them, and I love the guitars in this, which is no shocker since I love the guitar work on this album.
13. I Just Want To Sell Out My Funeral- This song is the conclusion to the album, and is a very theatrical way of ending the album. This song repeats a lot of lines from other songs on the album, while also being a song completely different from the other songs. This song somehow manages to combine all the emotions expressed in the entire album into one song perfectly, and I can’t express how much I love this song. This is the best conclusion to an album I have heard, and it’s another song I highly recommend listening to.