Band: The Wonder Years/All Or Nothing
Album: Distance [SPLIT]
Genre: Pop Punk
Label: No Sleep

Tracks:
1. An Elegy for Baby Blue – TWY
2. Don’t Open The Fridge – TWY
3. I’m Not Being Rude, But I Could Have Had Your Job – AON
4. Summer Vacation in Providence – AON
5. This is Very Impossible – AON

Last year’s EP of the year winner, The Wonder Years, are back in 09 on a split with All Or Nothing and we couldn’t be more excited. This is seriously a release that we at UTG have been waiting for since the last EP was released. The pop punk flies high and fast on Distances so get ready for an 09 takeover from real musicians with more heart than Marilyn Monroe had sex appeal.

The first two songs go to our boys in The Wonder Years and, needless to say, they continue to bring passionate, down to Earth, pop punk that anyone can relate to. These two tracks are quick, but both pack memorable punches. “Elegy…,” wastes no time kicking things off at level 10/10 and keeps them there all the way throughout. There’s a feeling of extra songs from the Won’t Be Pathetic Forever EP, but I don’t mind whatever. The band is getting tighter with the structure of the songs and that’s really apparent here as they keep a quick 1,2 tempo interesting and even the more relaxed bridge area just has a more musically mature area. Soupy, on vocals, continues to bring the real life situation injected with a bit of humor that we love and it continues even more on, “Don’t Open The Fridge.” This is the bette of the two based solely on overall construction of the track, but that doesn’t mean the first one is weak. There is a mature, like late Blink 182 feel to parts of it, but with that New Found Glory-esque attitude of, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Both tracks are gold. Hands down.

For the majority [3 tracks], All Or Nothing took control. This was my first encounter with these guys, but from moment one it is clear why they did the split – it’s so similar it’s scary. There’s a much more mainstream feel to the music of AoN, but it regardless, most people will notice musical and structural similarities. To me, “Summer Vacation in Providence,” is the band’s most promising track on the album. Some light syncopation and beautiful harmony work are rarely found in this genre, but AoN makes it common place and I gladly eat up every bit they serve [and you will to]. Though, the closer, “This is Very Important,” is well, important to mention. Closing a split puts a lot of weight on one band, but AoN pulls it of quite well. It’s a quicker track, but the words carry weight and there’s even a scorching guitar solo [in pop punk!].

In the end, this is one record worth traveling great Distances to attain [sorry, I had to]. In all honesty, this is one of the best splits I’ve heard in the past few years and I think it could be a great gateway to new fans for both bands. They work together amazingly well and both deserve much, much more fame. Here’s to the early contender for best EP of 09.

*Written By: James Shotwell*
Score: 9/10

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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