The Hum Goes On Forever, the latest from Philadelphia-based pop-punk outfit The Wonder Years, sees the band deliver another collection of songs fueled by cathartic and earnest lyrics and sing-along melodies that offer a sense of warmth and comfort that is both signature and unique to this band. From the moment the first lyrics are sung until the last guitar chord, this album is recognizably The Wonder Years, firing on all cylinders and pulling out all the sonic trademarks that have made them such an important and meaningful band to so many for well over a decade now.

As has always been the case, vocalist Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell’s lyrics and vocal performance are the absolute highlight of the album. Soupy’s captivating storytelling and emotional delivery only continue to mature and grow stronger with this album - covering a range of topics such as death, fatherhood, and offering new and changing perspectives on the familiar topics of loneliness. His voice adorns each track with such a visceral emotion that it is easy to find oneself in his words, and the graceful dynamics in his voice from song to song, even from line to line, paint a vivid picture of the subject matter, placing the listener inside the intense range of emotions covered within this album. Campbell speaks soft and delicately in moments during which it is appropriate, such as the first words of album opener ‘Doors I Painted Shut’, where he proclaims ‘I don’t want to die, at least not without you…’ over a single thin guitar line, before the instrumentation assists in building the intensity behind the statement. Once again, the phrase ‘I don’t want to die’ is repeated, this time in a yell of desperation and instead followed by ‘...or maybe I do’. A repeated phrase taking on a new meaning, now delivered in a more powerful vocal, with harder hitting instruments behind it, is a feat that Campbell pulls off with ease and with poise. Single ‘Low Tide’ hides the apocalyptic lyrical themes under upbeat music, as Campbell exclaims ‘everything’s been gray forever, it’s how it’s always gonna be’ behind a roaring wall of guitars and slamming drums.

On the opposite side of the desperation and helplessness present throughout the album, there are equally as intense and uplifting moments of optimism. Single ‘Wyatt’s Song (Your Name)’, an anthemic and soaring production that feels like a modernized iteration of the classic sound of the band’s earlier works, proclaims ‘I’m low and I’m scared, but I’m on your side’ as Campbell sings a song of adoration for his son. Keeping with this theme, the album finishes with ‘You’re the Reason I Don’t Want the World to End’, where Campbell again proclaims ‘I don’t want to die…’ In another confessional devoted to his son, he sings ‘I’m finding hope in the pocket of my winter coat, with your gloves, a reminder that I’m not alone.’ While these songs are pointed at a parental relationship, the message of finding hope and safety by means of love is universally applicable, one that the band have repeatedly spoken to and continue to champion. It is rare that an artist can so powerfully convey such a range of emotions and do so eloquently on both ends of the spectrum, but The Wonder Years continue to excel at just that.

With The Hum Goes On Forever, The Wonder Years have once again captured raw emotion in its purest form, bringing the listener on a journey through waves of soaring highs and intense lows, ultimately bringing comfort and security through song and continuing to carry the band’s ongoing message that it is okay to allow oneself to feel and to feel fully.

8.5/10