Oct 24, 2020

DEAR YOUTH "Heirloom" ALBUM REVIEW

If 2020 has taught us anything is to expect the unexpected. Something that I learned all too quickly while listening to Canadian pop-punk band Dear Youth. Their debut album Heirloom via Anchor Eighty-Four Records simply blew me away, easily being comparable to fellow Canadian pop-punk hierarchy Simple Plan and Sum 41 with attitude and angst.

The band entered the studio Room 21 with producer Sam Guaiana (Silverstien, Like Pacific) to record this debut album for most of 2019 commuting from their hometown in Montreal to Toronto for this modern yet throwback record. Even the name of the album itself seemed to take time, dedication and thought going into with Dear Youth's Jared Zuckerman going on to say:

'Heirloom' means holding on to the best moments in life and not letting go. So by definition, an Heirloom is something that is passed down from generation to generation. Maybe it’s your grandmother’s wedding ring or your father's watch. But I don’t see it as passing down the intrinsic value these items may or may not hold. It’s that these items represent the passing of time itself. This ties into the main concept of the record which relates to this directly. Trying to grip on to key moments in our lives and feeling that anxiety knowing it won’t last forever. Each song on this album is actually taking the idea behind the struggle of the passing of time and expressing it in a different way.”

HEIRLOOM's overall tone feels bipolar (in the best way possible), bouncing back and forth between the upbeat and poppy to almost an alternative-rock grittiness filled with more hooks than a tacklebox, and easy "to get stuck in your head" vocal melodies that brilliantly puzzle piece together the last 20 years of pop-punk music influences.

Opening track and single "Who Are You" hits the ground running with the attitude and aggression of an Anti-Flag song with the overall tone of something by TBS or The Used while being able to stand all on its own. The album wastes zero time slowing down with songs like "Fix Yourself" and follow-up single "Dandelions" that feel as though you have yet to hit the top of this rollercoaster ride of an album and also easy to see why "dandelions" won the fan's pick back in April over their YouTube Livestream.

Songs like "Crash Course", "Gold Mines" and "One Slip" dial it back on the tempo and really let the melodies do the talking with "Gold Mines" being one of the most re-listenable tracks of the entire album. Enlisting the help of fellow Canadian pop-punker Jordan Black of Like Pacific, track "What's Your Secret" is easily the most aggressive and catchiest song of the entire album starting off with haunting minor chords and low octave vocals that picks up into a modern pop-punk bop. Doubled vocals throughout the verses bulk the track up that carry into the choruses with these awesome panned guitar riffs and harmony vocal melodies.

Keeping up the pace is following track "Dawned On" which is 100% my favorite track of the entire album reminiscent of older Neck Deep and Knuckle Puck with an upbeat and punchy cadance throughout the track. Finishing off the album is "Goodbye, Divide" which is way too good to be a deep-cut on this record with easily one of my favorite chorus melodies of 2020. The song's dynamics sum up the entire album's rollercoaster ride with the constant build-ups to fall-offs and heavy hitting, almost breakdown parts.

If you haven't checked out HEIRLOOM, the album is OUT NOW on all digital streaming services as well as available for purchase on ANCHOR EIGHTY-FOUR RECORDS official website.

You can check out tracklisting, and newest single WHO YOU ARE in the links below. Album purchase info. on Dear Youth's HEIRLOOM below!

Tracklisting: