Having just got this and giving it a few listens, I can say that I actually love this band now, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. It's only four songs and it's just a tiny bit different than their full-length "Get Stoked On It!" in terms of sound, but damn, they are good. I'll elaborate.
With "Get Stoked On It!", the sound was more poppy, had a lot more hooks, and had really great melody. They also used more keyboard synths. More-so in the vain of New Found Glory, only with keyboards.
With the opening track/intro "Mike Kennedy Is A Bad Friend" they have seemed to have gotten... dare I say, heavier? Reminds me of the intro to Set Your Goals' "Reset" where it's a nice heavy intro with great breakdowns that takes you into a more pop-ridden style of hardcore. Definitely not a bad thing. The second track, "Solo & Chewy: Holdin' It Down" kind of reminds me of later Lifetime.
The lyrical content is still fun-loving and observational to their obvious lifestyle on the road. The third (title) track "Won't Be Pathetic Forever" is more melodic but for some reason I'm finding that it's missing a little of the charm that they once had. Nothing really new here from these guys.
The fourth track, titled "You're Not Salinger, Get Over It" is quite the song. As I'm sitting here, I'm finding myself tap along and hell, even sing a little bit of the chorus; "My friends and I, we're all fucked on the inside but we don't let it ruin our lives. I'll cough all this shit out of my lungs from second-hand smokin' all night restaurants. I've been under/over all the shit we've done 'cause we're getting out. We're fucking gone!"
Definitely not anything new but I'm starting to like their approach to the whole melodic-hardcore/pop-punk thing. After this whole wave of type of bands die out, I sure as hell hope that The Wonder Years stick around afterwards.
Something I feel is missing from this release, though. Maybe it's the lack of hooks or melody, something that made me fall in love with "Get Stoked On It" in the first place. It's obvious that within the crowded pool of pop-punk and hardcore bands, they are trying to make a niche for themselves. As in the previous review, I criticized the keyboard synths, but now I know how crucial (cr00sh, bro!) it was to their sound. Hopefully in the next release they find a great balance of the fast side and the poppy melodies without making the contrast too extreme.
Bottom line, if you like this type of music, check this band out. You won't regret it.
