Album Review: A Day to Remember - "Bad Vibrations"

The early 2000's saw the break out of rock genres as the punk heads of the 90's saw their favorite touring concert, Warped Tour, invaded by cheesy pop punk and screamo bands appealing to angst ridden teens like myself. I lived for that summer tour where I could jump along to catchy choruses and then throw myself into the nearest mosh pit. One of the bands that caught my attention at my first Warped Tour in 2008 was an up-and-coming band called A Day to Remember that reached a middle ground of heavy breakdowns but that I could still sing along to as well.

Most bands that I liked back then have fallen to the wayside or I simply look upon as fun memory of previous adventures. A Day to Remember has managed to stick with me as my musical tastes have evolved; which I credit them for constantly maintaining their originality with an innate catchy-ness that I can’t seem to shake. I am not the only one that feels this way as they managed to snag the direct supporting slot to San Diego legends, Blink-182, as they tour for their new album California.

The latest A Day to Remember album, Bad Vibrations, begins with the title track that sends out an aggressive early tone that tends to be the MO for this band. The band bounces back and forth between angry screams and power chords in tracks like “Paranoia” and “Exposed” to their more pop punk catchy style in “Naivety” and “We Got This”. The screaming and singing done by lead singer Jeremy McKinnon has always been a highlight of this band and this album is no different as he belts choruses that forces you to sing along and then growls out a few lines preparing for an intense breakdown like the one in “Bullfight.”

Ultimately, Bad Vibrations follows the formula of many of the previous ADTR albums with a slightly more aggressive tone on this album overall, but I don’t think they truly stretched their talent far outside the box. The usual gorgeous slow, emotional track “Forgive and Forget” can be seen as following in the footsteps of their previous acoustic singles “If It Means a lot to You” and “You Had Me at Hello.” This album is great for die-hard fans of A Day to Remember that love for their style to stay the same, but I find previous albums “Common Courtesy” and “Homesick” to be stronger overall and will have staying power in my album rotation.

Best Songs: Paranoia, Bullfight, Reassemble, Forgive and Forget

Passes: Exposed, Turn Off the Radio, We Got This

#ADayToRemember