Millennials of a certain age remember when pop-punk was all the rage. However, in a blink, its heyday was over. Instead, the memories of a bygone period in time live on through another in a long line of passing fads. Nostalgia, paired with a soundtrack, is a powerful thing to behold. Northern England punk rock band Yearlong, with the aid of a pop-punk inspired sound, reminisce on happier times on their debut single, “Playing Out.”
The hyper pop-punk energy of “Playing Out” is the catalyst for the nostalgia angle. It is, in of itself, a throwback with its lightning quick guitar riffs, furious drums and gruff vocals. For those that were brought up with the early 2000s pop-punk explosion, you know that it was, at times, an unrelenting, ultra caffeinated sound. Yearlong taps into that high energy sound in order to showcase the intense bout of nostalgia they are portraying. Instead of reflection bringing a warm and fuzzy feeling, there is a frantic blitz upon the nerves.
With guitarist Sam O’Donnell and bassist John McArthur sharing vocal duties, the duo combine to tell the story of a disconnected person who has shut everyone out. All the while, they are sifting through their memory banks to locate “simple times” where they could just “play pretend.” Sitting in reflection of good times with friends, they adopt a “save” mantra to store away those memories for a metaphorical rainy day. In the end, they are “chasing those nostalgic times,” concluding that they “miss playing out all the time.”
As time goes by, we are all looking to recapture the golden moments of our lives. Perhaps, the elusiveness of recreating those memories is what makes them special. On “Playing Out,” Yearlong is in pursuit of something that will never return, which is time. It marches on for all of us and, in the case of this tune, it sprints.
Written by Travis Boyer
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