Boston-based bummer-pop band Future Teens are releasing their 3rd full-length album Self Help this upcoming Friday September 23rd, and their #1 fans won’t be disappointed. Self Help, musically, is pretty simple and straight-forward that fans of a more light-hearted emo rock sound will enjoy. Future Teens write honestly and earnestly about the uphill battle of keeping yourself alive. The album serves as an ode to anyone and everyone who has had to balance the delicate nature of accepting your mental health struggles while also seeking to overcome those struggles. 

The album opens with ‘Doorknob Confessional’, which serves as a perfect first track and lays out the fundamental themes of the album. The slightly somber intro about the coldness of winter builds into a more upbeat ode to doing what you can to stay alive when depression and life are eating away at you. The next few songs ‘Good Reason’, ‘Well Enough’, and ‘Smile With Your Teeth’ provide a smooth listening experience until the next big hard-hitting song ‘BYOB’, which takes on a more guttural and dynamic sound that acts as a good half-way point for the album. 

‘Stress Dream’ brings listeners back down from the build-up of ‘BYOB’ and then heads into an immediate upswing with the highlight song of the album, ‘Team Sports’ (featuring Dan Campbell of The Wonder Years). The rest of the album takes the listener through a couple of different tone shifts between the more poppy, upbeat ‘Same Difference’ to the more laid back and self-reflective ‘Real Change’. “Going Pains” is an excellent conclusion to Self Help. Acoustic guitar and back and forth vocals guide listeners into a gut-wrenching, reflective state of mind. 

The vibrant personalities of the band members shine through with bright tones and easy rhythmic beats throughout Self Help. The detailed storytelling present in these songs makes listeners feel like they know the band in an intimate way and that there’s comradery in the shared experiences we all face while growing up and trying to navigate life. The lighthearted nature of their compositions paired with lyrics that are very personal make for a killer combo on this record.

While the lyrical content is good, it can feel like some of the verses are one big run-on sentence, and a couple of songs feel a bit cluttered because of that. There are really great, catchy riffs and build-ups throughout Self Help - but at times, the dynamic follow-through isn’t quite resolved. The album is good, but the potential was there for it to be great. However, the strong baseline songwriting, both lyric and composition wise, really outweigh the parts of the album that fell a little flat.

Overall, Future Teens’ Self Help will satisfy old fans and will definitely bring in some new ones as well. This album is an easy, fun listen that definitely gets the job done of showcasing the band’s talents and reputation as being musically upbeat but emotionally honest.

6/10