Four Year Strong by Four Year Strong

Four Year Strong are an undeniable force of pop-punk nature. Originally a quintet, the band released two massive albums in the form of 2007's Rise Or Die Trying and 2010's Enemy Of The World, before becoming a 4 piece and releasing third album In Some Way, Shape Or Form in 2011. The latter saw the band struggle to maintain their trademark punchy bounce complete with sing-a-longs galore but thank God for getting up when you've been knocked down because this fourth album sees Massachusetts finest return to their glorious selves!

As always, the album is full of catchy titles such as Wipe Yourself Off Man, You Dead and Here's To Swimming With Bow-Legged Women and also features some of the coolest album artwork you'll see this year. But to Four Year Strong's credit, this isn't a distraction from half-hearted anthems and beaten in spirit, it's in fact more of a celebration about returning to the top of their game to do what they do best. Single, We All Float Down Here makes an early appearance, getting you in the mood for the pop-punk onslaught you're about to hear and shortly after you arrive at the aforementioned Wipe Yourself Off... which is clearly going to be a crowd pleaser live with it's stomping riffs and throaty shouts of "clear my head, it's all I've got left, it's the only thing to keep me from winding up dead." It's also the first real breakdown of the album and it's a rib-cage rattler for sure. Who Cares? steals all the limelight however with its electric undertone and it's mix of all the things you love about Four Year Strong: the riffs, the fills, the gang vocals, the breakdowns,and all the other stuff they do so well. Before you know it, you're taken back to Go Down In History, title track of the band's 2014 EP, and it's a fitting ending, one which has you punching the air and smiling from ear to ear.

If there's one negative thing about this album, it's that it's nothing new. But where for most this would be a detriment, for Four Year Strong it's actually a strength; the quartet's return to their roots is what this makes this album as good as it is, so get your party pants ready, you're gonna need them once you've hit play!

7/10
Listen to: We All Float Down Here, Who Cares?