From upcoming album No Closer To Heaven, ‘I Don’t Like Who I Was Then’ is the explosive new track from pop punk pioneers The Wonder Years. The third single from the South Philadelphia sextet, it follows up previous releases ‘Cardinals’ and ‘Cigarettes & Saints’.
Opening with a distorted and definitive riff, The Wonder Years immediately stamp their trademark of harsh beats vs. harsh reality on the track, the emotive nature of the music paired with the self-reflective pain in lead singer Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell’s breaking vocals. ‘I Don’t Like Who I Was Then’ embodies strength, from the hard-hitting anthemic nature of the music to such self-aware lyrics as ‘I think I’m growing into someone you could trust / I wanna shoulder the weight ’till my back breaks’ showing the evolution of The Wonder Years musically, but also highlighting the personal development of the members. The new track is a translation of true honesty, every beat ricocheting with a profound poignancy.
Reshaping the genre of pop punk for a second time – firstly with sophomore effort The Upsides which developed the genre from the playful and joking stereotype that it had previously been enclosed in – The Wonder Years once again prove their place as the kings of the scene with their latest single. Not only are they part of the foundation upon which the new-wave of pop punk (Neck Deep, The Story So Far etc.) was built but they are also now proving that the genre is capable of overcoming stereotype and being just as, if not more, serious and expressive than the rest of the music industry.
Produced by Steve Evetts, upcoming album No Closer To Heaven, which features new single ‘I Don’t Like Who I Was Then’, is released via Hopeless Records on September 4th and is available to pre-order now.
Words by Heather Moss