CREDIT: Lupe Bustos (Big Picture Media)

Worcester, Massachusetts-based Melodic Hardcore/Pop-Punk band Four Year Strong have finally returned with the announcement of their long-awaited fifth full-length album BRAIN PAIN, produced by Will Putney. Fans have been eagerly awaiting a proper follow-up to Four Year Strong's self-titled 2015 album, which was "followed-up" by a 2017 Odds & Ends-style compilation called Some of You Will Like This, Some of You Won't. Four Year Strong consists of vocalist/guitarists Dan O'Connor & Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jackson "Jake" Massucco. To be completely honest, I had never heard of Four Year Strong (FYS) 'til the other day, when my buddy at work casually mentioned "Four Year Strong had a new single out;" it soon clicked that I vaguely recognized the name "Four Year Strong" because I had received an email earlier that very same morning from a press agent at Big Picture Media. Come to find out, once I checked my email again, Four Year Strong had not only released ONE, but TWO new songs that fateful day!


Going into this completely blindly... I really didn't know what to expect, aside from the fact that FYS' label, Pure Noise Records, had recently released super-strong efforts from the likes of Bayside, Senses Fail, Microwave, Selfish Things, Save Face/Graduating Life, and Hawthorne Heights, yes, THAT Hawthorne Heights. Needless to say, I was extremely impressed by the overall sound, style, and feel of Four Year Strong's "Talking Myself In Circles" and "Brain Pain." Especially, lead-off single, "Talking Myself In Circles," which has, additionally, received an accompanying music video. It's a rather chilling, yet great video that, somehow, falls somewhere in-between Marilyn Mason's gut-wrenching early 2000's visuals and OK Go's unique brand of stop-motion/single-shot trickery. Also, major shout-out to drummer Jackson "Jake" Massucco for sporting a Gang Starr T-shirt throughout "Talking Myself In Circles." Four Year Strong's fifth studio album, BRAIN PAIN, will be released Friday, February 28, 2020 on Pure Noise Records. Four Year Strong's "Talking Myself In Circles" & "Brain Pain" are now available on your digital streaming platform of choice.