Four Year Strong are one of the pop punk bands that have endured long enough that they make most top 10 lists of any fan of the genre.
Their sound has evolved so much through their lifespan that not only has it remained fresh, but it’s kept its teeth. Fast and furious, ferocious and fun… songs that are designed for shouting when you need to get it all out. Tonight, The Garage plays host to Four Year Strong and an impressive support of Koyo and Shoreline – or it would have been had Shoreline not has to cancel due to illness. It is a shame as they blew us away with Knuckle Puck last year.
This weekend is also a blessing to the pop punk-inclined with Four Year Strong, State Champs, and Set It Off playing one night after another in Glasgow… so consider this review the first of a trilogy. A New Hope.
Koyo are a five piece that aren’t quite hardcore, not quite pop punk. They sit right on the boundary of both where their undeniable hardcore credentials are bolstered by a decent melodic undertone in the vocals. These guys are such a good choice to support Four Year Strong as they drag us literally kicking and screaming into the headliner’s universe of anger, frustration and catharsis with catchy hooks. The singer looks like he could rip the arms off a man and beat him to death with them, but that’s not influenced my appreciation of Koyo… only made me envy his gym routine.
There’s a few singalong moments in this set and some of the crowd have come expecting them. Requests even getting shouted from the back which is a more than respectable reaction for a support. Remember when Finch sat in the gulf between emo and post hardcore? These guys have that throne now.
I’ve seen many a strange thing at shows in my years… but an entire venue singalong of Dirty Dancing’s ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’ is a new one. It was tempting to see if I could do the lift with a random fan, but thought better of it.
Four Year Strong walk onto the stage and crack on with ‘Aftermath/Afterthought’ which is from new album “Analysis Paralysis’ – a progressive evolution from the sound we’re used to from the band, but it’s still well received. It’s when fan favourite ‘Bad Habit’ fires up that the crowd abandon any restraint and the crowd surfers get to work.
The band run through their seventeen-strong setlist proving that they do what no other band in this sphere can do. Guitar techniques often reserved for the metal fraternity – the chugs and the pinch harmonics – are the backbone but they sound distinctively pop punk. Where bands like Bayside embrace the metal sound, Four Year Strong drags it across the street and turns it into something more palatable to those not quite ready to stray that far from pop punk.
You can’t claim that our headliners have a front man… vocals are supplied in equal measure by both Alan Day and Dan O’Connor while they shred away impressively. The duel vocals make it tricky to know where to look, but no matter where you look at on this stage, you’re not bored. Bassist Joe Weiss is thrashing about like a madman while the lighting rig is in overdrive behind a thick fog. Even if you were to look back at the crowd around you, we have pits and crowdsurfers which could be considered an endangered species in this day and age. It’s sights and sounds tonight and both are exhilarating.
I’m one of those people who tend to have their favourite tracks lying on the outside of the consensus, but to have them end on ‘We All Float Down Here’ and ‘Wasting Time’ (complete with audience clap along) couldn’t have been a more perfect end for tonight. What a start to the weekend!
Photos by Catching Light Photography
Catching Light Photography
- Set It Off / Call Me Amour / Point North / TSS - 25 February 2025
- State Champs /Broadside / The Home Team - 24 February 2025
- Four Year Strong / Koyo - 24 February 2025