The Wonder Years - Sister Cities (April 6, 2018) Album • Page 146

Hate how I have bought this album twice (vinyl and CD) and everyone else has heard it apart from me Won't even listen to it on either of those mediums... just waiting for it to appear on Spotify.

My personal preference in terms of albums is Suburbia > Upsides > TGG > NCTH.

I do like NCTH though, think Cardinals, Cigarettes, Bluest Things, Brave are among my favourite TWY songs. However Thanks For the Ride, Stained Glass Ceilings, title track, for me are good but not great.

 

I keep dragging down that email box trying to refresh it for that shipping notification I NEED THAT BOOK LET’S GOOOO

 

Just praying this streams early somewhere, Id feel so guilty listening to a leak these days, even though I preordered. I’m so hyped I can’t contain myself.

 

I'm not sure this is considered a leak since the band are willfully selling it early.

I also think it's streaming today ?

 

Streaming tomorrow actually. England closed for Easter obv.

 

Siiick! On Spotify/Apple Music etc, or elsewhere?

 

it's a website stream, it doesn't go on streaming sites until it's out

 

My guess is Billboard or Stereogum.

 

NPR

 

not happening, NPR's streams don't go up every day. just monday and thursday generally

 

its streaming on chorus dot fm

 

It’s streaming on AP.net: The Return

 

its streaming...in our hearts

 

Exclusive Streams Mend Broken Hearts

 

The real album stream is the friends we made along the way

 

My leaked copy does not sound as good as Pyramids of Salt or Sister Cities on Spotify, so I'm going to hold off to not ruin the songs. Soupy's voice is WAY in the front, and the drums sound like they are coming from busted speakers with the bass up too high.

 

i wasnt gonna go there but OKAY ANTHONY

 

You see, it’s because

we’re

sibling municipalities

 

we're brother towns

 

Brother towns &

 

Ok I have some thoughts so bear with me.

For the longest time I had this feeling that no band or artist that I would encounter after a certain point in my life would have as profound an impact on me as a person as the bands that shaped who I am today. Bands like Jimmy Eat World, The Early November, Yellowcard, The Starting Line, Saves The Day, Say Anything, Motion City Soundtrack, New Found Glory, etc. were all incredibly important to me during my teenage years and still are to this day, but after a time they almost became untouchable in a manner that could really only come about as a result of the almost-legendary status they occupied in my young mind. They were the classics, the pantheon of my musical life, the things I always returned to no matter what else I encountered and how my tastes changed. And I never really thought that any band could ever reach those heights, without the advantage of youthful nostalgia and the formative effects they had on me.

But then, in 2009, I encountered The Upsides. I was blown away immediately by the earnest lyrics, the catchy choruses, the overall feel of the music that just made you want to sing along at the top of your lungs in the same way so many of the classic records I grew up with did. I wore that CD out in car rides and on my iPod for months and months. Suburbia came two years later and knocked my socks off from the moment Came Out Swinging started to when the final note of And Now I'm Nothing rang out. The Greatest Generation saw the band take the sound they had done so well on Suburbia and perfect it, a natural extension of that album's musical style and the apex of TWY's time spent in that sonic space. And NCTH featured the most experimentation that the band had ever exhibited, with even the songs existing in a similar style as their prior two albums sounding ever-so-slightly different, a group of six artists exhibiting growing pains that came from wanting to branch out from where they came while not fully committing to jumping over that cliff completely. It was rough around the edges and was not my favorite of their records but I still listened to it a ton at the time and continue to listen to it to this day.

All throughout this time, however, I never quite came around to putting the band on the same tier as my two favorite bands of all time (JEW and TEN). They were right there in the conversation, but I'd describe them as something like "my favorite of the last few years" or some other similar qualifier. It's something that I couldn't quite explain at the time, and still really can't, but nevertheless it was what it was. I legitimately loved everything I'd ever heard from the band, but something always kind of held me back from going all the way with their placement in my personal band rankings.

But no more.

Sister Cities is, without question, the greatest thing this band has ever done. It stands apart from their discography as a towering achievement in terms of both musicianship and lyrical content. The insane growth and maturity on display here is undeniable; this is a band that has decided to throw caution to the wind, shed their past selves almost entirely, and come out the other side as something different. Something somehow even better than before. The record grabs you immediately and doesn't let go for all of its ~45 minute runtime. The gauntlet of emotion Dan takes the listener on with his never-better lyrics is matched completely by the varied and brilliant music accompanying them. This house is rock solid from the foundation on up to the roof. The atmospheric moments, the groovy moments, the balls-to-the-wall heavy moments, the quiet and contemplative moments, it all flows perfectly and takes the listener on a true journey. Giving myself over to this record was one of the easiest things I've ever done, completely immersing myself in the sounds and imagery in a way I haven't do with a record in a long, long time. It's truly special.

With all that said, I feel completely comfortable putting this band in the same sentence, on the same tier, as JEW and TEN. They've given me the same joy that those bands did, only with the added bonus of my having grown with this band as opposed to just growing up listening to them. I was a 19-year-old freshman in college when The Upsides dropped; today I'm a 27-year-old (what) with a career and my school years behind me. And in all that time, nearly nine years later, this band has been there soundtracking the completion of my journey to adulthood. So there are no qualifiers anymore. The Wonder Years is one of my three favorite bands and Sister Cities is their crowning achievement. Feels real good to say.

 

Couldn't agree more with every word you wrote. I still haven't listened to the leak--waiting to get my LP and book--but I agree 100% with all of your sentiments. In fact, if I were to have a music Mt. Rushmore, TWY (and JEW) would both be on it.

 

easily their most cohesive album :). still on my second listen, but im diggin it so far!

 

Ugh just went to order the grey w/ white black swirl vinyl so I can have a regular copy along with the book and it's $10 shipping probably because of the passport but lame

 

Are UK/EU fans who want to preorder the book/splatter vinyl SOL? Because Merchnow have some of those in stock still and, including shipping to Ireland, they are $86. EIGHTY-SIX DOLLARS. Absolutely not, as much as I love this band.