ALBUM REVIEW - Four Year Strong - ‘analysis paralysis’
It’s been a while since Four Year Strong released an album. Their last album, Brain Pain, was released in 2020, but now they are back with their sixth album, ’analysis paralysis,’ produced by Will Putney (Fit For An Autopsy, Better Lovers). The story goes that Dan O’Connor and Alan Day showed up to the studio without any songs finished and spent time with Putney talking and listening to music to find the inspiration they needed to get going. They decided to look back at what made ’Brain Pain’ the success it became and found clarity. Within a month, they had nearly finished their album.
”aftermath/afterthought” kicks off the album, and it was the fourth single released—a somewhat bouncy and synth-driven song with heavy guitar riffs. There’s no denying that ”bad habit” had to be single; its catchy hook and heavier guitars cement that they aren’t done with evolving musically. ”maybe it’s me” sounds like a classic pop-punk song that doesn’t fail to have the fans singing along, and while it’s one of the ”lighter” songs, instrumental-wise, on the album, it doesn’t forget to grab the attention with the lighthearted drumming, and softer raspy vocals.
”out of touch,” on the other hand, has a 00s pop-punk sound; it could remind one of Four Year Strong of their EP Go Down In History, a nice nostalgic touch to an otherwise pretty impressive album so far. ”STFIL” has a softer side to it; it is a vulnerable break-up song. While ”paranoia” serves up as a catchy singalong, it’s just a fun song melody-wise. The closing track, ”how do i let you go” is one of the most emotional and raw songs that I’ve heard from them. The nice overlay with the synths and softness in the vocals works so well before it becomes a bit harder in the instruments and vocals towards the end.
It’s easy to be critical about all the different genres Four Year Strong dabbles in on the other songs on the album, but somehow, they manage to make it work. They don’t overuse the reggae component on ”out of touch”, nor do the metal elements on many of the songs feel out of place. Jack Massucco deserves a standing ovation for the drumming on many of the songs, most notably ”dead end friend,” which felt more guitar-driven in the beginning but somehow takes the lead throughout the song, and the same goes for ”uncooked”. But after 23 years as a band, they work well together and understand each other, and each other needs to grow, or at least, that’s how it comes across on analysis paralysis.
With analysis paralysis, Four Year Strong delivers a strong, genre-blended, diverse album that balances the sound of nostalgia with musical growth. While it’s not without its challenges in the beginning, Four Year Strong takes charge of their willingness to experiment, and it pays off. The result? We have 12 tracks that should very much satisfy the needs of long-time fans but entertain the newcomers, proving to many of us that analysis paralysis is very much just the beginning for Four Year Strong.
