By Alex B.'14
(the first post of his music column)
 |
| Credit: altpress.com |
Music has always played a
huge role in my life, but Philadelphia-born-and-raised pop-punk band The Wonder
Years have been the most crucial facet of my adolescence. Their music is
complex – the lyrics are literal, yet poetic and sometimes strike allusions to
legendary beat-generation poems, and the instrumentation is well orchestrated
and layered. The band put out their first album, Get Stoked On It, while still in college at Temple and
Drexel Universities. Although the lyrics are comical and the instrumentation is
simple, the album brought the band local fame.
After local shows and
do-it-yourself east-cast tours, the band recorded its second full-length album,
The Upsides. This CD proved to be a
dramatic change: a shift from college-boy humor to realist, poetic lyrics. This
album highlights the singer’s life in pure honesty, using real names of people,
places, and objects that affect his everyday life. For example, in his song
“Logan Circle”, lead singer Dan Campbell sings, “They turned on the fountain
today at Logan Circle / And I felt something in me change.” This album elevated
the band to national recognition.
The band toured off of this
album for a year, playing the Vans Warped Tour and other national tours. The Upsides caught the eyes of larger
record labels. The Wonder Years signed to Hopeless Records for their next two
albums, Suburbia I’ve Given You All And
Now I’m Nothing and The Greatest
Generation. These albums, each artistically more intricate than the album
preceding it, earned the band international success. They quickly embarked on
an Asian tour and numerous European tours. Currently, the band is on a
nation-wide tour with A Day To Remember, All Time Low, and Pierce The Veil. The
Wonder Years are a local success story. I look forward to seeing them in
concert again soon.
Check out their music here.
Find them on tour here.
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