When it was time for Four Year Strong to prep what would become their sixth album, analysis paralysis, they were truly, finally, stumped. Vocalist/guitarists Dan O’Connor and Alan Day showed up to producer Will Putney’s studio on day one of recording without a single finished song, in stark contrast to the 40-some ideas they brought to the table for 2020’sBrain Pain. 

The two spent those early days in a bedroom at Putney’s house talking about, and listening to, music, desperate for a spark of inspiration. They found it by looking back: at what made Brain Pain a success and even the genesis of Four Year Strong as a band as they rode their trademark sound – pop-punk energy, dextrous riffage and caustic hardcore spirit – to the top of the underground in the late aughts. Within a month, they’d completed nearly 80% of the album, like the ominous, metal-meets-industrial “aftermath / afterthought.” They melded combustible hardcore rhythms with ‘90s alt-rock melodic bliss (“uncooked”), dabbled in rough-around-the-edges reggae (“out of touch”) and swerved between vibe-heavy synths and thunderous breakdowns (“STFIL”).

The result is an album that expands their classic sound in exciting ways – but through it all, it’s unmistakably them: O’Connor and Day’s distinctive vocals atop the airtight rhythm section prowess drummer Jake Massucco and bassist Joe Weiss provide. This deep into their career, there’s really nothing that doesn’t sound like Four Year Strong with these four involved.