I should like this by rights really – NFG-esque riffs, huge singalong choruses, backing gang vocals and a few cheeky samples and synths thrown in for good measure. It’s like Four Year Strong have taken all the best bits of Hit The Lights and Set Your Goals and converted them to create one super band. And with all the internet hype surrounding this band right now I don’t think it will be too long before they eclipse Valencia as I Surrender’s premier band (although I still love The High Court…)
Anyway, ‘Rise or Die Trying‘ is a good old fashioned fun record. It has huge singalong pop hooks – like, massive – as witnessed by ‘Abandon Ship or Abandon All Hope’ which is not only rifftastic but also gang vocal and singalong-tastic too. Have I mentioned this record has more singalong moments than you can shake a stick at? I seriously cannot emphasise how catchy some of these songs are. ‘Wrecked ‘Em, Damn Near Killed ‘Em’ is huge, as is ‘Catastrophe’.
4YS know how to build songs around the riffs, so when there’s a crunchy guitar riff, as there is on ‘Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Hell’ they can trade licks and then use the multiple vocals to just wreak fucking havoc all over your stereo. Although I’ve basically just jizzed all over this CD review, I do still think Valencia and The High Court exceed this record in terms of sheer, all-out awesomeness. Four Year Strong make a strong case for the pop-punk crown, but while the pretenders are certainly tugging away at the title, they’re not quite there yet. Some of the screaming is a little misplaced and there are one or two forgettable tracks. But when the band do it right, boy they’re shit hot…