Mind Equals Blown
  • News
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Single Reviews
    • Show Reviews
    • Retro Reviews
  • Editorials
  • Interviews
  • Features
    • 3 Of The Week
    • MEB Ranks
    • What We’re Jamming
    • EOTY Lists
    • Podcast
  • Photos
  • Meet the Staff
  • Advertise
Album Reviews, Retro Reviews 0

The Wonder Years: Get Stoked On It!

By Jason Gardner · On May 16, 2013


It would be a massive understatement to say that Philly pop-punk flagbearers The Wonder Years have come a long way since their debut LP. Get Stoked On It! had all the makings of a scene cliched in humming synths, heart-on-sleeve lyricism and a heaping handful of pop culture references from the song titles to the pretty rough artwork. But every band has to start somewhere – and for as far as this band has come in what now amounts to four full-lengths, it is with a bit of nostalgia and a reasonable amount of knowledge of how the band has grown that I can admit The Wonder Years didn’t have the best start to their career.

An opener like “Keystone State Dude-Core” would give you the idea that this is a punk rock album. And while it is very much punk-inspired, the not quite refined edge of the band was still in the process of balancing itself out amongst Star Wars and Kool-Aid Man. The vocals and lyricism of Dan Campbell are a particularly polarizing spot for the band on this album, as his almost overly personal stories and rather unimaginative injections of said references tend to fall pretty flat. I would say for as much as he kind of missed on this record, it shows even more how much he has matured on both sides of the scale.

Musically, the album suffers a similar fate. Weighed down by an almost fatal amount of post-teenage identification schemes via stories of moshing, pirates and zombies, the pop-punk lean of the record is pretty run-of-the-mill save for the energetic and inspired sections here and there. Granted, the album is arguably book-ended by its best cuts, “Keystone” and “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong,” but the middle of the bulk isn’t completely void of a hit or two amongst the rest. It almost feels like it would have been better as an EP, but I don’t hesitate to suggest that getting such kinks out of the system made The Upsides even better. But more on that later.

Get Stoked On It! is not your typical story of fandom resided in the debut of a young, spunky group of dudes who changed their sound into something else entirely over the course of a few records. The Wonder Years are, and have always been, a pop-punk band at heart. But to look back and say that they started off on a kind of bad note isn’t unfair in the slightest – you can hear how much better they’ve gotten at their craft even in the splits and EPs that they’ve done since then. This is a debut marred with some growing pains, and it is sincerely not much more than that – though if you’re just managing to find out about The Wonder Years, it wouldn’t hurt to at least give it one spin.

Dan Campbellget stoked on itkool-aidNo Sleep Recordspop-punkstar warsThe Wonder Years
Share Tweet

Jason Gardner

Some time after graduating from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in written communication, Jason figured it was time to put that knowledge to good use by delving into the world of music writing. In his spare time, he enjoys playing Xbox Live, where he dominates in n+ and Trials HD, but seemingly can’t beat most people half his age at Black Ops or Halo.

You Might Also Like

  • Album Reviews

    Where I Go When I Am Sleeping Finds Casey at Their Most Atmospheric and Reflective

  • Turnstile Time & Space Album Reviews

    On Time & Space Turnstile is Pushing the Boundaries of Hardcore

  • Album Reviews

    The Plot in You Turns to Grim Post-Hardcore with Mixed Results on Dispose

Latest Reviews

  • 6.5

    Where I Go When I Am Sleeping Finds Casey at Their Most Atmospheric and Reflective

    March 30, 2018
  • Turnstile Time & Space
    8.5

    On Time & Space Turnstile is Pushing the Boundaries of Hardcore

    February 28, 2018
  • 6

    The Plot in You Turns to Grim Post-Hardcore with Mixed Results on Dispose

    February 28, 2018
  • Review Of The Dangerous Summer Self Titled Album
    7.5

    The Dangerous Summer Are Back from Hiatus and Better Than Ever

    January 24, 2018
  • 7

    Backtrack Provides an Honest Take of our Tempestuous World on Bad To My World

    November 27, 2017

News

  • Sum 41 to Celebrate 15 Years of Does This Look Infected? with Anniversary Tour

    April 18, 2018
  • Hopeless Records Presents Susiepalooza Charity Comp

    Hopeless Records Partners with Susiepalooza to Raise Money for Cancer Research

    April 4, 2018
  • Gasparilla Music Festival 2018

    Gasparilla Music Festival 2018: Can’t Miss Moments

    March 21, 2018
  • To Write Love On Her Arms “HEAVY AND LIGHT” Event

    February 19, 2018
  • iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball Tour Announces Lineups Just In Time For The Holidays

    October 30, 2017

Interviews

  • Jamie Tworkowski Empowers “Heavy & Light” Goers

    April 12, 2018
  • Vagabonds Reminisces On Recent Achievements, Playing With His Musical Idols, And Artistic Growth

    February 19, 2018
  • Under 1000: Mr. Carnivore

    February 19, 2018
  • Under 1000: Travis Crowley

    October 27, 2017
  • Varials Reflects on First Full-Length, Hardcore Dynamic, and Fake Rivalry with Knocked Loose

    September 11, 2017

Follow #MEB on Twitter

My Tweets

Latest Photos

Major Lazer
Major Lazer
Major Lazer
Major Lazer
Young Thug
Young Thug
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Press Kit

Subscribe & Follow

Follow @mindequalsblown
Follow on Instagram
Follow on rss
© 2016 Mind Equals Blown All rights reserved.

© 2013 Solo Pine Designs, Inc. All rights reserved.