Review Summary: This LP is a lot of things at once, and it just so happens that they're all great-- and even more spectacular when they come together in the grand story that is Modern Baseball's sophomore effort.
Modern Baseball has been one of two bands that have so keenly captured what it means to be a mentally ill young person-- along with The Wonder Years, who the group has actually toured with, MOBO handles life and all its strange occasions with a blunt sense of truth, intimacy, and even a little humor thrown in.
You're Gonna Miss It All is my favorite of their records, although all of them are wonderful listens. It's the kind of half hour that makes you laugh, self-reflect, and maybe even cry all in that one span. From the opening lines of Fine, Great we are immediately whisked into the life of a college misfit, and we can't help but feel very connected to him and his story. Brendan Lukens handles the bulk of the vocals, his distinct voice taking us right along on the ups and downs of the journey.
We travel from a somewhat self-deprecating but energetic, relatable, and quirky beginning to the building climax of the story telling, of deeper memories and the strangeness of relationships alongside who we are as a person ourselves, introspection and nostalgia weaving together to form a blanket of sensations. The Old Gospel Choir is a powerful song that switches mood and style halfway through to send you into a rousing collection of swelling feelings, which eventually floods away into the next songs, including the two intertwined tracks: Charlie Black, a fast and enthusiastic cry of being free from a relationship, and Timmy Bowers, the slow and acoustic realizations of the aftermath. The songs then cascade into the finale, the most iconic part of which is Modern Baseball's famous creation Your Graduation, a song that ignites such emotion and genuineness that it never fails to bring goosebumps after years of listening--and lends momentum to the moving soft yet strong Two Good Things and the quiet acoustic ending track, Pothole.
There are so many ups and downs, curves, changing emotions and complex parts of this very personal and very effective story, and the music reflects that in a way that doesn't just support it, but empowers it. You're Gonna Miss It All is a love story, a coming of age story, a story in general, for the modern age of right now-- but something about it rings timeless, and surely will continue to for years to come.
