‘Big Ole Album, Vol. 1′ not only marks twenty years since A Day To Remember’s debut LP, ‘And Their Name Was Treason’ – it also marks a stylistic return to the blend of metalcore and pop-punk that defined the band until 2021’s ‘You’re Welcome’. Their second record put out via Fueled By Ramen, this return will be welcome to fans of the harder-edged A Day To Remember of yore.
The band themselves seem to acknowledge this in the opening words of ‘Make It Make Sense’ – a softly spoken “You want it, you fuckin’ got it,” leading straight into the heavy riff that drives the album’s opener, it’s dirty, filled with ghost notes, driving and groovy. As if to nail the point home, we’re seamlessly hit with the first catchy chorus of a record that’s chock-full of catchy choruses. A punchy breakdown, layered with sonic flourishes, secures the nail in place. It might be formulaic, but it’s a formula that’s served the band well for two decades strong.
The first single released from the album was ‘Miracle’, which has been out for almost three years now. Anthemic choruses, melodic verses, and a filthy, extended breakdown – if the band wanted to signpost a return to form ahead of time, this would be the song. Despite that, it’s the second single, ‘Feedback’ – also the album’s second track – that is the overall winner of the record. It’s high-octane, relentless, punky, the album’s shortest song, and catchy as fuck. ‘Lebron’, released the same day as ‘Make It Make Sense’, feels like the most Fueled By Ramen track, including a very Patrick Stump vocal line and is easily the most successful straight pop-punk song here.
I say easily because the album’s low points are where they lean into their pop-punk side and away from heavier elements. ‘All My Friends’ is a fairly anodyne pop-punk anthem – catchy, yes, but overshadowed in an album filled with better songs that are more striking. The same goes for ‘Flowers’ and ‘Die For Me’. They’re not bad songs by any means, but a little toothless here, feeling a little like mid-album filler. Ironically, these songs beg the ironic question of whether ‘Big Ole Album’ wouldn’t be a bit tighter if it were less big.
It’s in the well-trodden blend of metalcore and pop-punk that the band are clearly in their element. ‘Bad Blood’ powers through, high-energy, heaviness and catchiness balanced well. ‘To The Death’ may well be the album’s heaviest track, the poppier chorus here offering a brief gulp of air before diving back into screams and chugs. On the flip side, ‘Same Team’ is generally a far poppier affair, though not lacking heavy, rhythmic guitars and a post-chorus that elevates the song as a whole, setting up the breakdown. ‘Silence’ is the song that challenges ‘To The Death’ for heaviest song, though it’s a very different beast, slower and more doom-laden. In fact, it may be the one song to flip the formula on its head here, saving the darkness for the chorus and letting the verses breathe.
While ‘Feedback’ is a choice for the album’s winning track, ‘Closer Than You Think’, the closing song, is a close second. It sits on the other end of the spectrum to ‘Feedback’, the album’s longest song, and the one that most bucks the wider genre trends, veering into a kind of pop-rock that causes nostalgia of mid-00s band Switchfoot. Hinged around a deceptively simple guitar hook, it offers a break with the formula at the perfect point.
‘Big Ole Album, Vol. 1’ is an enjoyable return to the style of music that made A Day To Remember darlings of the emocore scene over the past two decades. It’s polished, catchy almost to a fault, and while it doesn’t push many creative boundaries, it has everything fans will want – big singalong choruses, rhythmic breakdowns you can throw down to and filthy riffs throughout.
WILL BRIGHT