Undoubtedly one of my favorite cd's so far this year is "This Time Next Year" by The Movielife. Though it was technically released late last year, it will surely make my list of this years best albums. Perhaps you haven't heard of this band...neither had I until a few months ago, when I saw the bands name dropped in a Dashboard Confessional interview. From there I checked out some mp3's, and I liked them, so I ordered this hard to find cd from my local (capitalist pigs) HMV store. To me that is one of the great things about to underground punk scene, discovering new bands. One can feel a certain sense of ownership when discovering a new underground punk band, when you discover a new top 40 band, it's not just you discovering them but thousands of others too. Just thought I'd share that tidbit...anyhow back to my review, a clever infusion of pop-punk and hardcore, The Movielife hails from Long Island, New York; home of long island iced tea, and east coast hardcore. Their sound can best be described as a unique infusion of pop punk (or emo-core) and hardcore. The vocals are in the vein of other punk bands but they add hardcore elements in the instrumentation, timing, and at times, the vocals.
This cd starts out hard and fast with the opener, "I Hope You Die Soon", a sadistic little opener that's not too catchy but opens your ears and sets you up for the rest of this killer album. The title track is track number three, and is probably the catchiest song on the album. It is followed strongly by "Once in A Row". And from there on in the onslaught really doesn't stop the rest of the cd is solid. "Single White Female" and "Another Friend" are other standout tracks. Every song on the disc is intensely emotional, with lead singer, Vinnie, wearing his heart on his sleeve. The instrumentation is intense, the lyrics are blunt and emotional (and a bit angry), the production is excellent, and the sound is so unique. If you are at all into pop-punk, or melodic punk, or hardcore I highly reccomend you go to your record store and order this album. Order because it's released on Revelation Records, and apparently their distribution sucks. But that will soon change as they are in the midst of making a deal with Drive Thru/MCA which will increase the distribution of their next record immensely. Let's just hope they don't end up getting soft and sounding like New Found Glory.
"This Time Next Year" everyone will know who The Movielife is. Which is sadly unfortunate...We can hope it doesn't ruin this band as fame has ruined so many before them...
Probably my favorite cd of the year so far...If you like Pop-Punk with an edge this is a must-have for your collection. I love it!