Review / Multiple Authors
Years from Now
We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

I have to admit, Years from Now do shed a tiny bit of warm sunlight into the dank black empty soul of this jaded hardcore scenester in more ways than one. It's nice to see a bunch of rapscallions play melodic hardcore in a quite a way that I can imagine the members of this Floridian band having a record collection that mirrors my own. Years from Now also crack my icy cold facade by naming their record after one my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies of all time. Ah, you kids, you give me hope.

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat is a nineteen track discography containing Years from Now latest songs, their first EP as well as a two straight forward covers of Youth of Today's "Wake Up and Live" and Descendents "Bikeage." Musically Years from Now play mid-tempo to expeditious tuneful hardcore that I'm sure that made everyone under the age of twenty-two think Kid Dynamite. I, however, thought that We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat evoked CIV's Set Your Goals rather than Kid Dynamite's Shorter, Faster, Louder. Although both Set Your Goals and Shorter, Faster, Louder are great albums, nevertheless, it's good to see a band remember CIV's masterpiece. Too many bands these days want to be Kid Dynamite part two instead of being CIV. CIV ruled. It's awesome to see I'm not the only one that remembered.

The songs on We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat are crisp sounding, snappy and full of life. I've heard so many young bands come out as of late try their best to recapture the heydays of melodic hardcore only to be bogged down by either lackluster songwriting or at worst trying to be the next New Found Glory. Luckily, Years from Now escapes all that by trimming the fat and creating solid memorable songs with enough hooks to fill Paul Bunyan's tackle box. They even added in the occasional "whooaaaa" from time to time.

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat is a good album by a newer band whom not only plays homage to their influences but manages to make it all their own. I usually can't make it through a nineteen track CD but Years from Now had me tapping my hand over my heart and smiling all the way through. I can only hope that even more bands will follow the path Years from Now is treading by bringing us more thoughtful good sounding bullshit free melodic hardcore.

Those of you who read my "Top 5 Awesome Bands SPB Got Into in 2005" feature in the end of the year recap, might remember my mention of Years from Now. Out of Daytona Beach, Florida, Years from Now play infectious melodic hardcore with pop-punk flourishes. Think New Found Glory meets Fastbreak. A melodic hardcore fan can't want much more than that, methinks.

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat contains nineteen tracks in all. Essentially a discography for the band up to this point, the release contains eight new songs (two of which are only new in that they're re-recorded from the band's original demo), covers of The Descendents ("Bikeage") and Youth Of Today ("Wake Up and Live"), the So Much Promise 7", and the songs from the original demo that weren't re-recorded in one form or another.

Despite having only a couple releases under their name, Years from Now have made a mark in the current hardcore scene. The earlier tracks are clearly reminiscent of bands like Grey Area. The new songs, particularly "Hey McFly" and "Some People Play Baseball" shine through with a sound that calls to mind Gorilla Biscuits or even CIV - the good CIV record, anyway.

If there's something wrong with this release, I can't find it anywhere. The songs contained on We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat are well crafted, competent melodic hardcore songs that even the most jaded hardcore scenester (Read: Jason) can, or at least, should appreciate. It's nice to hear a band that play quality songs, but don't lose sight of having fun in the process.

Years from Now have set a precedent for themselves. The only thing to do now is for Years from Now to keep pushing on, and try to top themselves yet again. The only thing I can hope for is that 2007 will bring with it Years from Now shows all over the country. The one thing that bugs me though...do you think they got their name from the Good Riddance song, or from the lyrics to "Polar Bear Club" by Silent Majority? Let me know, guys.