The Freshmen Years – Riverdale

The members of this pop punk trio are obvious fans of Blink 182. The similarities are too blatant to ignore. Right from the first minute of the album you already know whether you are going to like them or not.

While they often sound like Cheshire Cat– era Blink, they stretch their wings a little on occasion. The lead off track “It’s the Weekend, Kids,” is a short track that owes more to Four Year Strong than Tom Delonge, with a hint of the hardcore elements that are prevalent in the new breed of pop punk. Unfortunately, like early Wonder Years releases, the song suffers because of the uncomfortable attempt to be what they are obviously not. Just because hardcore influenced pop punk is the flavor of the season, it doesn’t mean that it is a good fit for your band. The good thing is that at only 1:04, the song is over before you have a chance to hit the off button.

The band is best when they get directly to the point. A couple of the weaker tunes drag out a couple of minutes longer than necessary (“Neil Hatrick Parris” just goes on and on and the misguided Moneenattempt “Sepia Toned & Thoroughly Stoned”). You Got A Friend in Me clocks in at 1:22, but it shines in its brevity. I found myself hitting the back button over and over to continue listening to it. The thing about a short song like this is that it has a catchy chorus and is just short enough to be very easily memorized. It sticks in your head after only a couple of listens and I find that I’m wandering around hummingFreshman Years all day.

They make up for their lengthy missteps with songs like the Set Your Goals sounding “Everything Popular is Wrong” and the acoustic surprise “Five Bucks in the Hate Jar.” The songs are short and catchy, the titles are goofy and there are plenty of “whoa ohs” thrown into the mix.

Overall, the album is a decent introduction to a young pop punk band still struggling to find their identity. But like Cheshire Cat, Riverdale shows enough promising moments to be redeeming. Throughout the album, the songs seem to be all over the place. Some are long and brooding, while others are designed for crowd pleasing gang vocals. Hopefully Freshman Years can continue to mature with their sophomore full length.