ALBUM REVIEW: Tear Me To Pieces – Story Of The Year
Remember STORY OF THE YEAR? If it’s not a resounding yes, then whack on the band’s debut album Page Avenue and be transported back to the good ol’ days of baggy jeans and Warped Tour dreams. The boys had some hits, and we’re talking pop-punk bangers. Their mix of hard-hitting riffs and seismic sing-along choruses made them a big name within the scene and you’d be hard-pressed not to find Until The Day I Die on a skater’s playlist.
After that the band endured some solid years with a decent follow-up with In the Wake Of Determination and the ‘shooting for arenas’ jams on the impressive The Black Swan, but since then it’s been a little quiet. Sure, they’ve released a few more records but none have really broken through into the mainstream, but they continued to hold on to their core followers. 2023 has rolled around and the band are back once more with Tear Me To Pieces. After 20 years, can they put their name back on the map? Or is their time now a story of yesteryear?
The opening title track starts with an acoustic riff and soon the unmistakable voice of Dan Marsala makes an appearance, and it feels like a warm, welcome home hug. A return of a friend you haven’t seen for years. But the riff that kicks in is an unexpected shock to the system. The band have always had some big riffs, but this is one meaty mother. A massive chorus is at the forefront and it’s another infectious ditty to add to their extensive collection of songwriting genius. We’re then dumped into an emotional pool during the contemplative Real Life where Marsala ponders whether there’s “beauty in the pain”. Twenty years have gone but age doesn’t always matter, sometimes the pain remains.
If you fancy more of the thick riffs, then look no further than Afterglow or mid-album highlight War. The former has a pounding guitar like that wouldn’t feel out of place on a BREAKING BENJAMIN record; while War, on the other hand, has fun bending rather than breaking with its string bends and synth backing. It features one of the catchiest choruses on the album and one of their best-written choruses to date.
It’s funny how a genre can have a connotation to a season. Pop-punk has always had that summer break vibe and the song Take The Ride captures that perfectly with its drive into the warm night feels. Dead And Gone is one of the heaviest tracks on the album, especially lyrically. It seems to delve into a toxic relationship with its refrain of “why does it feel so good to let you go”. You can feel the anger more in the vocals and the music here and this isn’t their standard pop-punk affair. It will be a great live track that will get the pits moving. The production on the album is as squeaky clean as you’d expect from this genre. But everything truly sounds great. Every instrument is heard clearly, and nothing is ever overpowering. It would be nice if the drums hit a little harder during their heavier moments as they don’t always match the ferocity of the riffs. But we’re nitpicking here.
While this album is a great achievement, and it proves that the band still has something to give 20 years after their debut, there are certain tracks that sound dated and don’t fit with the more modern crunch of much of the record. The ode to the past, 2005, falls flat on its face like someone in their mid 40s trying to remember how to kickflip, while the flaccid closer, Use Me, sounds like it should have been left in the diary of an angsty teen. It’s not the explosive ending that this album deserved.
It would be a shame to write Tear Me To Pieces off as another album holding on to the past, but STORY OF THE YEAR have taken steps to ensure that their classic pop-punk style is translated to a modern audience to primarily great results. This album won’t be the story of the year but it certainly shouldn’t be ignored.
Rating: 7/10
Tear Me To Pieces is set for release on March 10th via SharpTone Records.
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