Single Review: Your Graduation by Modern Baseball

Modern Baseball - Your Graduation
from "You're Gonna Miss It All".
Run For Cover Records















Modern Baseball have relatability down to a fine art. Their debut album, the critically acclaimed and generally amazing Sports, perfectly translated the emotions of your average 17 year old into a set of emo tinged, 90s-esque pop rock tracks. Hearts were won, angst was shared and Modern Baseball found their niche as a band who could cater to all sub-genres - the only listening requirement was a functioning set of human emotions.

A year later, the PA band have returned with the announcement of a new album "You're Gonna Miss It All" and a new single, "Your Graduation". Now it's time to see whether Mr Brenden Lukens and his merry men are as talented as it seems or if Sports was just beginners' luck.  Well, if "Your Graduation" is anything to go by, Modern Baseball are keepers. Less than three minutes in length, the lead single is quick to put an worries to rest. Continuing on from where Sports left off "Your Graduation" sees the band still working with indie rock meets pop rock, smart sound which dominated their debut. Whilst procedures are slightly heavier than before (the second verse's gruff vocals give the track that extra edge), the band still maintain the everyman vocals and lack any sort of pretense which may build barriers between a band and their audience.

That's not to say this is the exact same band who wrote the likes of "Tears Over Beers". "Your Graduation" deals with the aftermath of the demise of a relationship and the hang ups that stay with the parties involved. No longer does Lukens sound like a wide eyed, awkward teenager whose girl problems are just another part of his existential angst, now his lyrics have that extra maturity and self-assurance. Lines such as "Bullshit, you fucking miss me / There I said it I guess I’ll talk to you in a few months" and "Remember all those countless nights/ when I told you I loved you/ and you’d never forget it/ oh, just forget it" still hold emotion resonance but display Modern Baseball as a band who don't have to rely on self-deprecation to endear themselves to their listeners.

Overall, "Your Graduation" is a late contender for single of the year. Catchy and hard-edged, Modern Baseball have proved themselves yet again to be amongst the best songwriters of the current scene and it's apparent that "You're Gonna Miss It All" is one of the most exciting releases to come next year.