This Time Next Year – Drop Out Of Life

Every year on Warped Tour there is at least one band that stands out amongst the large number of relatively unknown bands playing. In the past these have been bands like Gallows and Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, who won over legions with their great live sets. During what would become Alberta, Canada’s final Warped Tour, the prospects looked dismal until I spotted a hand drawn sign that said “recommended if you like The Movielife.” In the middle of a day packed with great old school skate bands like Anti Flag, Pennywise and Face to Face, these guys stood out like a sore thumb (although admittedly not as much as Katy Perry did a few years back). Despite only playing to about 5 people, they put everything they had into their set. Listening to Road Maps and Heart Attacks on my way home, I knew that I had stumbled onto my new favorite pop punk band.

The band return with an expanding fanbase and slightly higher profile with Drop Out of Life, a collection of songs aimed at bringing smiles to the faces of all the sad sacks out there. The Wonder Years may have been lauded as the pop punk positivity torchbearers following the release of The Upsides, but This Time Next Year take it one step further with their manifesto aimed at inspiring listeners to get out of the rut of sadness and take back their lives. Musically this album relates back to that hand written sign from Warped Tour; these guys clearly were inspired by The Movielife. The lead off title track starts things off with a catchy pop punk song, which is followed by 10 tracks in the same vein. Admittedly there is not a lot of variety to make one song stand out from the next, but when every song is great, then why change the formula? The album is short enough to demand multiple listens, which cements the songs into the listeners’ consciousness.

This Time Next Year may not be as familiar of a name as the other bands on New Found Glory’s Pop Punk’s Not Dead tour, but with the release of a flawless sophomore album they prove that they have earned their slot on the lineup.