the wonder years
Watch: The Wonder Years – “There, There”
Review: Liger Tea Party – “Sorry, We Aren’t Great”
Liger Tea Party – “Sorry, We Aren’t Great”
Released: June 23, 2013
Label: Unsigned
Purchase: Digital
Liger Tea Party is an unsigned band from Shanghai, China composed of clean vocalist/guitarist Dawson Chen, guitarist Charles Wang, drummer Edward Pan, and bassist/unclean vocalist Keith Yeo. The band just released their debut EP, Sorry, We Aren’t Great, but the members of the band have been in the Shanghai music scene for years in various different outfits. Sporting a sound that is hybrid of pop punk and hardcore (similar to A Day To Remember), Liger Tea Party has already rocked many venues around Shanghai, and their charismatic energy is familiar to their fans.
The EP itself is a current collection of their complete songs recorded at Dbstudios Shanghai. They possess a strong upbeat atmosphere that rivals veterans like All Time Low and The Wonder Years, with addictive crowd-pleasing chants. The unclean vocals are also, almost surprisingly, welcoming and a sublime addition to each song. Finally, their lyrics aren’t bad at all, definitely not reminiscent of some of the shallow writing present in certain contemporary artists, including some bands in the same relative genre. Our Editor-in-Chief, Harri Gibson, when asked about Liger Tea Party stated, “Damn, this band is a dream!”
The problem keeping Liger Tea Party‘s songs from being perfect in Sorry, We Aren’t Great seems to be the fusion of the vocals. In the EP, there are three voices who perform at different points, and while they are all unique individually, none of them appear to befit the songs’ instrumentals incredibly well. Similarly, in the EP Dawson’s clean vocals don’t mesh perfectly with Keith’s screams but that could be corrected easily and definitely isn’t evident in their live shows. The overall result is massive potential that screams to be better. The songs are incredibly good and very much worth a listen if you are into positive energy and gung-ho music. Stream the songs below and check out their Facebook page.
Standout Tracks: There’s only three, listen to them all!
7.5
Stream: The Wonder Years – “The Greatest Generation”
“It’s 2013 and no one that wasn’t supposed to have our record got it until we mailed them out. It’s shocking and really a nice feeling that a bond of mutual respect with everyone who had the press stream kept the album where it belonged.
Now, the record is streaming so you can listen guilt free. Like I said, its 2013. I know how shit works. Music is free if you want it to be, so why pay for it? To that, I say, touché. I get it. I understand but I’d like to counter with this: it’s $10.
Crime in Stereo said this to me once and it really struck me. Just stop and think about what you’d spend $10 on; one trip to Chipotle? Going to a movie if it’s a cheap one? Maybe a t-shirt from like Urban Outfitters if its on sale? Two beers at a bar?
We put in months of our lives into this record. We sweat and we froze in a shitty practice space. We argued and fought tooth and nail over every song. We spent weeks of 15 hour days at the studio working until we physically couldn’t anymore literally getting frustrated to the point of punching walls because we didn’t get it perfect. And that doesn’t even begin to account for financial shit. But forget all that. What’s most important is that we feel all the way down to our bones that this is our best record to date and the critics seem to agree.
It’s not intended as a guilt trip or like I’m pleading with you. It’s just a suggestion: next time you’re about to go to Chipotle, maybe eat what your mom made or use your college meal card or make something yourself. The next time you’re gonna go to the bar, split a 30 rack with some buddies and drink at home. I’m suggesting you take that $10 and buy The Greatest Generation because we think it’s worth it and it matters to us as a band that you do. That’s all. Hope your lives are great. See you this summer.”
-The Wonder Years
Check out the early playlist stream of The Greatest Generation below! The album is set to be released May 14th by Hopeless Records, which you can pre-order here. The Wonder Years are set to play the entire length of the Vans Warped Tour this summer.
Watch: The Wonder Years – “The Bastards, The Vultures, The Wolves”
Listen: The Wonder Years – “Dismantling Summer”
Listen: The Wonder Years – “Passing Through A Screen Door”
The Wonder Years Announce “The Greatest Generation”
“We know that this is unequivocally our strongest, most honest and most heartfelt work to date. We can’t wait to show everyone what we have in store for this release.”- The Wonder Years
01. There, There
02. Passing Through a Screen Door
03. We Could Die Like This
04. Dismantling Summer
05. The Bastards, The Vultures, The Wolves
06. The Devil in My Bloodstream
07. Teenage Parents
08. Chaser
09. An American Religion (FSF)
10. A Raindance in Traffic
11. Madelyn
12. Cul-de-sacs
13. I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral
The Wonder Years Release New Music Video
The Wonder Years have just released their music video for “Came Out Swinging”, the opening track ofSuburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing. You can check out the video below, which features a lot of The Wonder Years references like Hank the Pigeon. The Wonder Years released Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing earlier this year to critical acclaim and huge adoration from their fans. You can check out Frank’s review of the album here.
The Wonder Years B-Side
The Wonder Years just released a brand new b-side for Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing (check out Frank’s review for the album here). This acoustic cut is titled “Living Room Song” and was made available exclusively to those that purchased the Japanese version of the album. Check out the song below.
Review: The Wonder Years – Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing
The Wonder Years – Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing
Released: June 14, 2011
Label: Hopeless Records
Purchase: iTunes | Insound | Amazon
Let’s face it: the pop punk movement is nowhere near its past prominence. The former progenitors have all been missing in action, and very few new bands have been able to step into their shoes and keep the movement afloat.
But all hope is not yet lost. This year may mark the resurgence of pop punk, with the return of Taking Back Sunday and Saves The Day, just to name a few – all set to release new records during the next few months. And it’s certainly hard to ignore the new Fireworks album, Gospel.
And it’s even harder to ignore The Wonder Years.
In 2010, the band hooked listeners everywhere with their second studio album, The Upsides, which was later released by their new record label Hopeless Records. In a struggling scene, The Wonder Years shone and shone brightly.
Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing is not a new take on the genre, nor is it even much different from The Upsides, but it is a refreshingly honest and raw look into the lives of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania band. With that in mind, Suburbia is fundamentally built the same way The Upsides was, filled with relatable tales of misery, loneliness, struggle, and ultimately triumph. In essence, Suburbia could be considered The Upsides 2.0, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.
Opener “Came Out Swinging”, a track that is aptly titled, fades in with feedback and a muted voiceover murmuring “My mind is made up” and “There’s gonna be trouble.” The intensity of frontman Dan “Soupy” Campbell’s vocals on the opener set the tone of the album, continued with the blaring guitars and unforgiving drumming of the next two tracks – “Woke Up Older” and “Local Man Ruins Everything”.
“My Life As A Pigeon”, a song that details the struggles that accompanied the band’s recent success, is directed at the band’s fans and non-fans. On one of the album’s catchiest hooks, Soupy belts out “I won’t be afraid of making mistakes if you’re listening. Are you listening?”, straying from the outright positivity (“I’m not sad anymore”) on The Upsides and presenting the jaded nature of full-time band life. Tracks like the religion-criticizing “I Won’t Say the Lord’s Prayer” further demonstrate a lyrical maturity from Soupy, while “You Made Me Want To Be A Saint” and “Hoodie Weather” highlight the instrumental progression of the band as a whole.
Guitarists Matt Brasch, Casey Cavaliere and Nick Steinborn and bassist Josh Martin have all become much more technically capable. But the most noticeable growth is that of drummer Mike Kennedy, who delivers precise and rapid beats throughout Suburbia. As a unit, The Wonder Years have improved dramatically as songwriters, backing the raw and largely unedited vocals of Soupy. Closing track “And Now I’m Nothing” exemplifies the band’s new sound, complete with the crunch of the guitars, frantic drumming, and soaring vocals.
Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing takes all the qualities that set The Upsides apart and amplifies them, resulting in one of pop-punk’s finest releases in a long time. With Suburbia, The Wonder Years cement their place at the forefront of the scene, accomplishing the tremendous feat of topping The Upsidesand managing to do so without compromising their roots and perhaps more importantly, their authenticity.
9.0
Standout Tracks: “Came Out Swinging”, “My Life As A Pigeon”, and “And Now I’m Nothing”
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