Review Summary: Not quite the Magnum Opus it tries to be.
A few weeks ago, i had been presented the opportunity to see The Wonder Years perform live in their hometown of Philadelphia. After unpredictably opening with Pyramids of Salt, Soupy went on to explain just how much their new record Sister Cities meant to both him and his band, and despite his vocal chords being ravaged from an entire tour, it was undeniable that he meant every word he said. However, this burning passion is so strong that it occasionally clouds his judgment, and creates problems that shouldn’t exist. While Sisters Cities does show The Wonder Years excelling in new areas, it also shows them dragging their feet where they should not.
When it comes down to it, really the only thing preventing this album from becoming TWY's crowning achievement is its sheer desire to be exactly that. A magnum opus requires a combination of the perfect execution, presentation, and timing. Sister Cities undoubtedly nailed the last two on the head, because every individual performance, from Soupy's vocal performance to Michael Kennedy's justifiably subdued performance leading the rhythm section is absolutely dripping with passion. Every line delivered in Soupy's slightly weathered shout makes it clear that they undoubtedly believe that Sister Cities is where the band has been headed their entire career, as stated by the band itself. However, the passion and substantial meaning this album is supposed to represent is so overwhelming that the band struggle to portray something so ambitious. You know those dreams we all occasionally have, the kind that by the time you wake up have brought you to some important realization, or conjured strong emotions of some form? Upon waking up you feel the need to share with someone, and despite how much it affected you, it fails to have the same effect on whoever you're trying to express these feelings to. That unfortunately is an accurate summation of this album.
Relating to the listener is arguably the most essential aspect of The Wonder Years' identity, and that is where this album ultimately fails. All of the lyrical content on this album tries to portray human emotions in such a nearly aggressively ambitious manner, that it generally doesn’t succeed in feeling personal because they feel so broad, so much more bigger than before. Lyrically, Sister Cities is undoubtedly the least colorful album Soupy and co. have produced in their discography thus far, but is mostly forgivable because their standard lyrical fare understandably wouldn’t suit an album like this. Credit where credit is due however, this album proves that they no longer have to heavily rely on samey lyrical content, because although all the lyrics display a similar atmosphere of hopelessness and sadness, there is enough variety to keep it from becoming tiring. In the grand scheme of things, The Wonder Years have always written quality, meaningful lyrics, but by the end of the trilogy that was The Upsides, Suburbia, and The Greatest Generation, it became amusing to see how many different ways terms such as ‘Suburbs’, ‘cigarettes’, and ‘apartment’, could possibly be used, and this album finally succeeds in entirely distancing itself from these old habits.
Despite these lyrical shortcomings, the most substantial issue with this album that incredibly somehow seems to not yet have been brought to attention, is the production. All three albums within the trilogy had distinctly unique, but consistently excellent production values, and it was an essential key to their success. It helped to create thick and layered atmospheres, and while on paper that sounds like it could be potentially disastrous for a pop punk band, especially when considering their utilization of three guitarists, but it created a distinct identity for the band, and here it is sorely lacked. Sister Cities predecessor was the first slip in terms of production, as No Closer to Heaven was substantially less spacious and more suffocating than their older works, and while it undoubtedly took away from the quality, it didn’t necessarily ruin the album. But this is 2018 after all, and producers no longer seem to understand that clarity and breathing room is essential, and we’re left with an ear grating mess that is borderline painful to listen to. This detracts substantially from choruses in particular, because this album often tries to make explosive choruses drastically contrast with subdued verses, but much of this effect is lost when the choruses just sound like massive ugly walls of sound. The best example of this is when We Look Like Lightning builds to its aggressive climax, it fails to be nearly half as powerful as it was clearly intended to be. Thankfully the song is written well enough that it is still one of the stronger tracks on the album, but it just feels like wasted potential.
Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment of this album is the fact that it still manages to be a generally great album overall, despite these inconsistencies. There are several instances of new ideas that prove to be successful, and will hopefully be expanded upon in the future. An example of this is clear standout track, Raining in Kyoto, which contains a guitar heavy purely instrumental bridge that is really unlike anything else attempted in TWY’s already impressive discography. Another standout is Pyramids of Salt, which will likely go down as THAT song from this album (The Greatest Generation had The Devil in My Bloodstream, No Close to Heaven had Cigarettes and Saints, etc.) combining intelligent and effective songwriting with passionate and powerful lyrics, creating what will likely go down as one of strongest songs ever crafted by the Philadelphia natives. The final most notable accomplishment is how much improvement there is in closing an album, as a lack of closure took a lot away from No Close To Heaven. Although The Greatest Generation’s I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral succeeded in closing the album in a fully satisfying manner, The Ocean Grew Hands to Hold Me seems to be exactly what Soupy was referring to when calling this album the culmination of their discography thus far. By the time the final explosive riff enters full force, it feels like it contains every feeling, every emotion, and every single thing The Wonder Years stand for.
Overall, Sister Cities is not a poor album by any means, it just unfortunately fails to live up to its ambitions. In full honesty though, it’s understandable that this album would have some growing pains, as one of the most popular modern pop punk bands has finally completely rid themselves of any association with that maligned genre, instead adopting an alternative style that is overwhelmingly mature at times. So despite tracks like Heaven’s Gate being repetitive to a fault, the title track being almost a straight up dud, and some of the worst production values I’ve ever heard, Sister Cities should hopefully in time prove to be an essential step towards The Wonder Years’ TRUE crowning achievement.
