FUCK YEAH POP-PUNK

It’s that time of year again… time for Fuck Yeah Pop-Punk’s top albums and EP’s of 2011! This year, since Mitchell has come on board, we have double the amounts of lists for you to enjoy. 

Devin’s Top 10 Albums of 2011:

1. Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing - The Wonder Years

• Suburbia is The Wonder Year’s third studio album, following 2010’s major success The Upsides. TWY blew up faster than a lot of people, including themselves, could have ever imagined, and Suburbia is a perfect representation of that. The album features fast, catchy riffs, soaring melodies and heartfelt lyrics that anyone can relate to. That is why The Wonder Years have topped my list as best album of 2011.

2. Neighborhoods - blink-182

• I know there are a ton of you who never thought the day would come that we would ever see another blink-182 album. I was included in that as well. Neighborhoods is the band’s first studio album in 8 years, and while it’s not Dude Ranch, it’s the perfect progression from their self-titled record in 2003. Although my opinion may be biased, since blink is my favourite band, I still think that this album is incredible, and I hope there are many more blink albums to come.

3. Under Soil And Dirt - The Story So Far

• 2011 was The Story So Far’s year. Hands down. After signing to Pure Noise Records, Under Soil And Dirt was released, and hit the pop-punk scene, and it hit it hard. The band skyrocketed into one of the leading contenders in the pop punk scene, gaining fans all over the country. With the success of USAD, the band toured all over the world, gaining new fans. The album is incredible sincere, catchy, and straight up just makes you want to scream at times. 

4. Holy Shit - Living With Lions

• After losing their previous singer, Matt Postal, and replacing him with Stu Ross (Lowtalker, ex-Misery Signals), the band was scared that the fans wouldn’t receive Stu well. But how wrong they were. The fans either couldn’t notice too much of a difference between Matt and Stu, or they prefer the new vocalist. Although Holy Shit has a lot of Postal’s lysics, Ross delivers them in such a wonderful, melodic way, that I think it’s an incredible fit. After facing scrutiny from the Canadian government over the artwork, the band rose above it and “stuck it to the man”, just as real punk rock kids would do. Living With Lions are some awesome dudes, and they wrote an awesome album.

5. Daybreak - Saves The Day

• Chris Conley, you never cease to amaze the world. Daybreak is the last in the trilogy of Sound The Alarm, Under The Boards, and Daybreak, and it’s the perfect ending to the three albums. Starting out with a ten minute track, somehow the album never gets boring. Saves The Day is a band who can pretty much do no wrong, and Daybreak proves that.

6. Radiosurgery - New Found Glory

• NFG will say it once, and they’ll say it again: Pop Punk’s Not Dead, and Radiosurgery is a huge force behind that statement. Returning to the roots of Catalyst and Sticks And Stones, New Found Glory have reverted back to what they do best; writing and performing simple, honest, straight up pop punk. That’s something we here at FYPP can appreciate more than a lot of things.

7. Listen & Forgive - Transit

• Transit’s follow up to 2010’s Keep This To Yourself made our list at #7 this year. Listen & Forgive has progressed into a slower, more melody driven album. After signing to a major label (Rise Records), I don’t know about you, but I was a little bit scared for this album, but it didn’t disappoint. With an awesome guest appearance by Patrick Stump (ex-Fall Out Boy) on “All Your Heart”, the track instantly became one of the most memorable tracks of 2011 for me. Transit, keep it up, and definitely don’t keep anything to yourselves.

8. Gospel - Fireworks

• Fireworks definitely did not suffer from “sophomore slump”. Gospel is an exciting mix between pop-punk and indie, something that the band didn’t touch too much on with 2010’s All I Have To Offer Is My Own Confusion. Through positive lyrics and catchy melodies, Fireworks have shown that they’re not just another pop-punk band that’s going to burn out.

9. Man Overboard - Man Overboard

• Man Overboard became one of pop-punk’s leading contenders last year with their full length debut Real Talk. Although I didn’t enjoy the self-titled record as much as their previous release, Man Overboard still made our top 10 albums of 2011. Through sentimental lyrics about love and loss, Man Overboard knows how to tug at your heartstrings, and in turn, you love them for it. 

10. Never Felt Better - Boys No Good

• Boys No Good may be one of the only bands on this list that you don’t recognize right off the bat. The band is comprised of ex-Casey Jones/Evergreen Terrace members, so if you like hardcore, you will have heard of them by now. A few months ago, I reviewed this album, and gave it 4.5/5. Boys No Good have matured a lot since their 2010 release Fat Gurls EP, but not so much that they lost who they are. 

Top EPs of 2011

1. It’s Not The End of the World - With The Punches
2. Don’t Bite Your Tongue - Handguns
3. Running Water - Half Hearted Hero
4. I’m Not Sayin’, I’m Just Sayin’ - Hometeam 

Mitchell’s Top 10 Albums of 2011:

1. Daybreak - Saves The Day

• Saves The Day has been one of my favorite bands for as long as I can remember and this album amazed me. It was the perfect ending to the trilogy (Sound The Alarm, Under The Boards, Daybreak) that has been created by Chris Conley and the included documentary Finding Daybreak gave an extremely personal look into the bands creative process and what drives them to create the music they do. This is not only one of my top albums for 2011, but probably top album in the history of music.

2. Neighborhoods - blink-182

• This album was a longtime coming for the majority of us diehard blink fans and it did not disappoint! It was no Dude Ranch, but it showed a welcomed maturity and a new side of blink-182 that we haven’t ever seen before. Just like we grew up with them, it seems that now they are growing up with us.

3. Suburbia: I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing - The Wonder Years

• Suburbia was the perfect follow up to The Upsides. The Wonder Years continue to amaze me with the way their songs and albums always find a way to relate to everyone that listens; this album was no different. I can’t wait to see what else this band has in store for the new year.

4. Holy Shit - Living With Lions

• Good friends of us here at FYPP, Living With Lions didn’t disappoint with their 2011 release Holy Shit. They even showed the Canadian government that poop jokes are still extremely funny. This catchy album is always going to be on my playlist long after the new year.

5. Damnesia - Alkaline Trio

• After 15 years of gracing our ears with their music, Alkaline Trio decided it was time to give back to their fans a little bit. Damnesia is a collection of 15 songs they have released throughout their career remixed in a semi-acoustic format. With the addition of synth, strings and piano they took some of their best work and made it even better. It also included two new songs, and a cover by The Violent Femmes. This was a definite diamond in the rough in 2011 and you should check it out!

6. Radiosurgery - New Found Glory

• Pop Punk’s Not Dead, that is all I have to say.

7. Listen & Forgive - Transit

• This album was a breath of fresh air for the entire music scene. In my opinion Listen & Forgive is Transit’s best release to date. It showed a maturity and a definite progression in musical talent. Look out for Transit in 2012!

8. There Are Rules - The Get Up Kids

• There Are Rules from The Get Up Kids was their first release since 2004’s Guilt Show. This was an album that tested the true faith of The Get Up Kids’ fan-base and to much avail received positive reviews. It was a change of pace from the emotionally driven lyrics and Pryor himself stated it was to challenge him as a musician and create something unlike any past release. In my opinion, they succeeded and this album was fantastic.

9. Man Overboard - Man Overboard

• Man Overboard became one of pop-punk’s leading contenders last year with their full length debut Real Talk. Although I didn’t enjoy the self-titled record as much as their previous release, Man Overboard still made our top 10 albums of 2011. Through sentimental lyrics about love and loss, Man Overboard knows how to tug at your heartstrings, and in turn, you love them for it. (I 100% stole this little paragraph from Devin because I completely agree word for word, haha.)

10. Shed - Title Fight

• With the release of Shed, Title Fight decided to drop their youthful energy and pickup a more mature, almost nostalgic sound. Although it was a bittersweet, almost conscious, effort to depart from the sound of their previous release, The Last Thing You’ll Forget, it was mostly welcomed with open arms from their fans, and myself, alike.

Top EPs of 2011

1. The View From Down Here - Close Only Counts
2. Such Gold and A Loss For Words split 7”
3. It’s Not The End Of The World - With The Punches