Sister Cities is another entry in the secular gospel of the Wonder Years discography.
Fresh and ambitious without taking a step too far, Sister Cities is the Wonder Years' most fully realized work, and an artistic statement that deserves to be taken seriously.
The band have matured, and grown up; no longer is their staple diet pizza and pop-punk. Instead, Sister Cities is a sullen, brooding album in which the optimism of youth has bled out, replaced with a cathartic cynicism and gut-wrenching heartbreak.
Fans of big, stadium-swinging hooks might find Sister Cities a sparser, more introspective affair than they prefer, but the band seems okay with leaving South Philly basements behind and seeing more of the world. After doing so much to put the spirit of their hometown into music, they’re aiming for something larger now.
The overall tone of Sister Cities is intense and, at times, comes across as unrelentingly dour. Still, the Wonder Years' maturation from suburban pop punk ennui to (literal) world-weary emo desperation feels like a logical progression, and it's hard to fault them for tackling bigger subjects.
A fantastic album that gets some of its best moments drowned out by the abysmal mixing (this shit physically hurts to listen to. That's fine if it's noise music but not the wonder years). That being said, I still love the shit out of this album and it contains some of my favorite songs they've ever done and by far the best lyrics Soupy has ever written. And while the last three songs are probably the weakest of the bunch, it's still a pretty satisfying ending considering everything the band had ... read more
Lyrically this is so fucking rich, there were a few times where I felt genuinely choked up by the poignancy and honesty. Instrumentally, it's all good but I'd have killed for something a bit more challenging or apt to the geographical concept the band were going for.
The lyrics are great, but this album has issues with issues stemming from issues. It kind of just felt boring especially coming out after No closer to heaven (That album made me cry). No closer to heaven did this album better. I will probably give this album 2 more listens before I fully write this album off. The rest of the wonder years discography is so much better than this project.
Outside of the mixing in the loud parts, i really like the sound and some of the songs in here and i wish i could give this higher rating. But my problem with it is...i can't understand what the fuck Soupy is talking about other than something sad.
Yes, i know, i'm stupid, i should understand english better than this, and this is also stupid point, but i can't help but get little irritated when i know the words sang in the songs but can't get their meaning.
For the record, i haven't yet ... read more
surprised that this is considered the weakest wonder years album, maybe i'm biased since this was my introduction to the band but i think that the start and end of this album are both some of the best this band has to offer (even tho when the blue finally came and the ocean grew hands to hold me should be next to one another!!!)
The most underrated Wonder Years record, really solid throughout and deserves more praise. It Must Get Lonely is a masterpiece.
1 | Raining In Kyoto 4:07 | 86 |
2 | Pyramids Of Salt 4:42 | 92 |
3 | It Must Get Lonely 4:38 | 87 |
4 | Sister Cities 3:01 | 90 |
5 | Flowers Where Your Face Should Be 4:32 | 83 |
6 | Heavens Gate (Sad & Sober) 3:23 | 82 |
7 | We Look Like Lightning 3:59 | 81 |
8 | The Ghosts Of Right Now 3:09 | 78 |
9 | When The Blue Finally Came 2:11 | 70 |
10 | The Orange Grove 3:39 | 77 |
11 | The Ocean Grew Hands To Hold Me 6:15 | 83 |
#4 | / | Upset |
#8 | / | BLARE |
#21 | / | The Alternative |
#39 | / | Sputnikmusic |
#45 | / | Rock Sound |