The Greatest Generation is the final installment of the Wonder Years’ trilogy of records documenting the struggles of man versus self, others and the future.But even more than that, The Greatest Generation represents how, given enough time, a band can turn themselves from a joke into one of punk’s most interesting acts.Always known for his confessional lyrics, frontman Dan Campbell still opens himself up to criticism (“Passing Through A Screen Door”) but digs deeper and confronts his own failings (“The Devil In My Bloodstream”) while his bandmates thrash around him.(The harmonized “I’m in an aiiiiirpoooooort!” in “Dismantling Summer” will give you goose bumps.)
気持ちを吐露した作詞で知られるフロントマンのダン・キャンベルは、今回も“Passing Through A Screen Door”で批判的な姿勢を崩さず、“The Devil In My Bloodstream”では、更に深く自分の欠点と向き合っている。“Dismantling Summer”のバンドメンバーのコーラス“I’m in an aiiiiirpoooooort!”では、鳥肌が立つこと間違いない。
The Wonder Years are no longer pulling from old Starting Line and Saves The Day albums for musical inspiration; instead, on The Greatest Generation, they’ve figured out how to be the band they always wanted to be.It’s fast; it’s honest, and it’ll probably make you tear up more than once.