We Are The In Crowd’s new album, Weird Kids has generated a lot of hype already. After being labeled one of the most highly anticipated albums of 2014, we’re here to see what all the fuss is about.
The first song on the album is Long Live The Kids, and as far as WATIC’s history goes, this song is different already. It strays from their usual fast-paced, upbeat sound, and is instead slower to start with. It picks up instrumentally as the song goes on, but maintains a powerful sound, instrumentally, and vocally. Despite straying from their norm here, We Are The In Crowd have kept their usual cheeky, fun feel in the song, and its quite an empowering song.
The second song, The Best Thing (That Never Happened) goes straight back to the usual WATIC sound, with their upbeat pop-punk instrumentation. This song has lyrics that can only be described as “bitchy”, but in the best kind of way, with lead vocalist Taylor Jardine singing about not being held back by someone, saying “I’m the best thing that never happened to ya”. Despite having such sassy lyrics, the song maintains WATIC’s feel-good vibe, and it results in a really fun, catchy song.
The song Attention sounds very much like the We Are The In Crowd we heard in their debut album, Best Intentions (2011). It contains secondary, and backup vocals from guitarist Jordan Eckes, as well as Tay’s, and is the kind of song you’ll find yourself subconsciously singing along to.
Nearing the end of the album, there’s the song Windows In Heaven, and this one’s a tear-jerker. It’s much slower than their other songs, and much more emotional, with softer, more moving vocals. The song reflects on the loss of a loved one, asking “if you could see me now, would you be pleased and proud?”. Instrument wise, there is a heavier focus on the drums, rather than the guitars, and it has melodic background vocals. It all pulls together to create something really beautiful. It’s definitely the most emotional, passionate song WATIC have produced so far, and they certainly pull it off well.
It is crystal clear why this album has been so highly anticipated, as it contains a variety in sounds, ranging from classic WATIC, to sassy, to emotional and melancholy. The band pull off all these styles really well, all while maintaining their usual sound. The end result is a varied album, with some sing-along hits, and some emotional moments, that is definitely worth picking up.
9/10
