Bad Year - 'I Want My Journey To Be Filled With Laughter' (Quick Review)

Florida's Bad Year just released their new EP, I Want My Journey To Be Filled With Laughter, and it is a  nice slice of pop/punk mixed with some emo/punk in a solid way. The four song EP is perfect for sunny days and somber nights. It has the fast songs like "Decade" or "Rough Draft" which feature the current staple punk sound similar to bands like Neck Deep and Knuckle Puck. The songs are great sunny weather pop/punk songs that have a ton of energy to them and solid catchy moments. The band also find time to explore a more adventures side of their sound on "Bent Pine", which is a personal favorite song of mine from the EP. It's a more somber track that gets a pummeling, heavier vibe musically with these melodic, almost strained screaming vocals about half way through the song. It then moves into more of a pop/punk song and then back to some somber guitar playing. It's a great mid-afternoon or night song. I really like the flow of the song and the band really pull off what they are going for with it nicely. The mostly acoustic closer "Standstill" is another high note on the EP. I like the lyrics and I think the guitar sounds really good. It builds into a nice full band ending. It's  a really solid end to the EP. If you're a fan of pop/punk then you're really going to like this EP. It's a quick listen at four tracks, but all the songs are solid and worth your time.