Song Of The Week: 6/12/16

Song: "So Much For The Afterglow" (Everclear cover)

Artist: Four Year Strong

Album: "Explains It All"

Year: 2009

Place Of Origin: Worcester, Massachusetts

Years Active: 2001-present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"So Much For The Afterglow" is a song that appears to be about how the shine of a new relationship has faded as the years have gone by. You get the feeling that the vocalist thought that this was a relationship that was going to last and very much be a part of his future. As the years have past however, the two have grown farther apart and the future is that their is no future for the both of them. Four Year Strong covered this song for their 2009 "Explains It All" album. The original was recorded by the band Everclear and you can find it on their 1999 album "So Much For The Afterglow".

FOUR YEAR STRONG DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2005 - It's Our Time (Open Your Eyes Records)
2007 - Rise Or Die Trying (I Surrender Records)
2009 - Explains It All (Decaydance Records)
2010 - Enemy Of The World (Decaydance Records)
2011 - In Some Way, Shape Or Form (Decaydance Records)
2015 - Four Year Strong (Pure Noise Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF FOUR YEAR STRONG:

The members of Four Your Strong met when they were still in high school in Worcester, Massachusetts and officially formed as a band in 2001. After a few years of jamming together and playing local shows, the band released their debut album in 2005, "It's Our Time". Their 2007 release, "Rise Or Die Trying" peaked at #31 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart. By 2009, the band hooked up with Decaydance Records, a subsidiary of major label Universal Motown/Universal Republic. The band's 2010 release, "Enemy Of The World", debuted at #47 on the Billboard 200 charts thanks in part to the singles "It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now" and "Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)". After their 2011 release, "In Some Way, Shape Or Form", the band took a bit of a hiatus. They were back in 2014 however, releasing the EP "Go Down In History" and in 2015, the band released "Four Year Strong" which is their latest release to this date. Most recently, the guys in Four Year Strong completed a late summer/fall U.S. tour supporting their self-titled album in 2015. The band remains pretty active on the touring and recording front so I wouldn't be surprised to see new material from Four Year Strong come out in 2017 at some point. Style-wise, Four Year Strong is a melodic, pop punk band at heart with hints of hardcore at times, but not often. If you are a fan of bands such as The Swellers, Living With Lions, A Day To Remember, Polar Bear Club or Transit, then you'd probably enjoy listening to Four Year Strong. While they are influenced by melodic punk bands like Green Day, MxPx and The Offspring, as shown by their "Explains It All" album, their sound is also heavily influenced by 90's alternative/pop/grunge as they covered songs by Everclear, The Smashing Pumpkins, Third Eye Blind, No Doubt and Nirvana. Mix that all together and you get the sound of Four Year Strong. Pretty solid band, not spectacular, but pretty solid.

TEN FOUR YEAR STRONG SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)
2. Stuck In The Middle
3. Bada Bing! Wit A Pipe!
4. Just Drive
5. We All Float Down Here
6. Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
7. Eating My Words
8. It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now
9. Go Long Dad
10. Semi-Charmed Life (Third Eye Blind cover)