Four Year Strong – ‘analysis paralysis’

 

I have to give credit to Pure Noise UK for always getting their pre-orders out on time, and more often than not arriving before the release date. It’s a nice feeling when you get to hear a record a little bit early, even if it is only a few hours before it drops at midnight.

I’ve been a day one Four Year Strong fan, and their blend of pop punk and hardcore never felt corny and lyrically they always seemed a bit more grown up. When they released ‘Daddy of Mine’ a few months ago I thought it was a great first single, but honestly, the few singles after didn’t hit the same for me. I went into ‘analysis paralysis’ with a bit of trepidation, but on first listen I really like it.

 

The singles made more sense, and the album tracks link them together perfectly. It’s probably going to take a few spins to really take it in, but it’s a nice change of pace for the band. I’m sure they could have phoned in another 'Enemy Of The World' or 'Brain Pain', but they have tried to expand their sound on ‘analysis paralysis’, and it’s worked.

The artwork is, quite frankly, bizarre. I don’t know what the meaning of it is in relation to the album, but it’s like some Muppet-based fever dream and I’m pretty sure my sleep paralysis demon will have new face now. That said, I don’t hate it, and I’m sure that Four Year Strong had a reason for picking this artwork.

 

Another thing I’ll always appreciate about Pure Noise releases is there’s usually a lot going on, and given they price their new releases reasonably, you get plenty of bang for your buck. A heavy card gatefold sleeve and a separate lyric/credits sheet, rather than printing them across the inner spread is a nice touch.

 

There were plenty of colourways to choose from for this release, but this one is the Pure Noise exclusive Purple In Beer and Clear Split with Black and Blue Splatter out of 750. I can’t say this looked quite as nice as the mock up portrayed it, but as any collector will attest, the expectation vs reality these days are two wildly different things.

 

After more than 20 years as a band and with 'analysis paralysis' being their eighth studio album, it seems there’s plenty of life in Four Year Strong yet. If, like me, you were a bit on the fence about some of the singles, this record is definitely going to be worth spending more time with.