When a band blatantly admits they don’t know where to go with an album, it can smell like a disaster on the horizon. Four Year Strong fastened their blindfolds, and blindly took a dive into the deep end for their sixth album and it paid off. Analysis Paralysis, conceived in a little over a month, has skyrocketed For Year Strong into another playing field, rivaling the heavy hitters of the scene: A Day To Remember and Underoath.
As Plato said, “Necessity is the mother of invention”. The growing desire to create a new album allowed Four Year Strong to explore avenues and alleyways their pop-punk image would not have allowed in the past. Taking notes from 90’s grunge and metal, pushing lyrically to match the hard hitting riffs scattered between, Four Year Strong hone out a new space in the industry and invent a new era for the band. Songs like “bad habit” and “daddy of mine” deep bass line and riffed guitars play into the ambience 90’s alt-rock scene. And while they explored different styles, there are still traces of the Pop-Punk Four Year Strong, finding them in “uncooked” and “STFIL”. Whether you enjoy the current or former sound of the band, the foursome composed of the strong vocals of pair Dan O’Connor and Alan Day alongside drummer Jake Massucco and bassist Joe Weiss wielding a sound that is still distinctly Four Year Strong.
This album, ironically takes after one of its tracks titled: “rollercoaster”. You experience the highs and lows, the old and the new, the hard riffs and the soft vocal refrains. Analysis Paralysis is a 35 minute, twelve track album that will have you asking to ride again.
Rating: 9.0/10
