A Day To Remember Make Comeback With New Single; Finally 'Feedback' That Doesn't Make Your Ears Burst

If you’ve listened to A Day To Remember for as long as I have your high school angsty alarm bells should be going off as it’s about time for their tentative tri-year LP cycle. Keeping it not very subtle with dropping the hints; latest headliner ‘The Least Anticipated Album’ Tour, gives us a little more than just live shows to be jumping up and down for. It’s been a couple years since we last covered what the Ocala gents were doing, so before we give ‘Feedback’ some feedback, let’s rewind.

Although they’ve been appearing in promo photos as a 4 piece since Woodard‘s departure in 2021, Fit For A King’s own Bobby Lynge has been stepping up to the plate and tackling bass duties since, giving credit where credit is due for helping other artists to fill an instrumental void when they’re needed and doing it with style. After finally being free from a Victory Records contract ADTR celebrate a new lease of life with their first album in five years You’re Welcome released under Fueled By Ramen LLC.

Lead by 5 singles dropped from 2019-2021 premiered with ‘Degenerates’; self-signature pop-punk with minor synth elements incorporated to keep that pop sound blossoming, but falling short due to a slow tempo and too much general spacing within the writing leaving a lot more to be desired. ‘Resentment’ picked up the pace and got the adrenaline rushing again, while still heavily relying on synthy grooves and dominant clean vocals carrying the album. Minor metal elements are still brushed on certain songs like ‘Brick Wall’; hard hitting snares, dagger sharp kicks, 100% more chugs, ring outs and strained vocals, a vital combination for A Day To Remembers amalgamative heavy to pop sound. Overall, You’re Welcome definitively fell into the ‘safer’ side of their discography hitting more radio rock and simplistic old-school pop-punk components, leaving the tunes to blend and drown amongst each other becoming unrecognisable individually.

Fear not, for those who were not a fan of the seventh studio LP, single ‘Miracle’ brought back a lot of nostalgia, re-welding  together the split path of What Separates Metalcore From pop-punk in good ole’ ADTR fashion, almost as if they’re Homesick. Refining their additional electronic ingredients, ‘Miracle’ felt fuller & structurally complete compared to its predecessors. Still predominantly keeping to a comfortable amount of cleans, by some miracle the metal was brought back; breakdowns, djent, screams, the whole lot, we missed it and we’re all still here for it.

Going for a heavier take with the same simplistic feel as their last album, ‘Feedback’ swiftly comes in with low end chromatic guitars, pushed to the back seat for a breather while Jeremy McKinnon barges his way front and centre with fast grooved cleans, boasting more of a strain to uphold the more post-hardcore/heavier styling. Classic anthem vocals and lyrics to get the live audience singing back with them but overuse can feel a bit dad rocky. The drop to the breakdown is sweet and can easily lead to a long lasting pit of swings but with no retort to the heaviness afterwards and jumping back to the same chorus kills that vibe. While ‘Miracle’ did a great job to bring ADTR back to the forefront, I feel like something was lacking here again. Overall, ‘Feedback’ is a solid song bringing influence from What Separates Me from You & Bad Vibrations to their more aged & modernized era of music, but nothing that really grasps you too tightly, yet I’m always eager to hear what’s next.

Less than a week till the Florida locals take on a summer run for their first headline tour of 2024, alongside The Story So Far & Four Years Strong, a banger line up for the U.S only, sad times. But hey, with new material out and much more on the way I’m crossing fingers that ADTR will be pulling up to our golden Oceanic shores with a new catalogue sometime in the near future.

Words by Ed Atlas (@YourFavouriteMerchGuy)