The Early November is one of those bands that have grown over the years while still staying true to their original form, and that’s not different on their newest venture, Twenty. Recorded in Ocean City, New Jersey in Ace Enders’ studio, Twenty is a celebration of the past two-plus decades that The Early November have been around and making music during. Each track is a movement of feeling and emotion, stripping down the barriers of what makes them human and what drives them to create this music.
Opening on the acoustic ballad “Trees,” the soft start shows the maturity that The Early November have achieved in their music. It’s a short song that is a great opening for Twenty. After the acoustic track, “Make It Happen” begins. The first single from the album and second track is a callback to the band’s roots, creating a more emo-inspired song that mixes sounds of pop punk throughout the three-minute track. While less raw and angsty than their earlier work, this song is a fun dissection of a sound they revisit on every album.
“Five Years” was the third single released from Twenty, and quite frankly, it kicks ass. It’s a hard-hitting track, opening up on a drum fill, and just rips. This track really shows off the skills of drummer Jeff Kummer, keeping a steady beat the entirety of the song, and sprinkling in some fun switch-ups in his drumming. “Five Years” is a song you’ll be screaming at the top of your lungs every time you put this song on.
Closing on “Open Eyes,” a guitar driven bookend to Twenty, this song does a fantastic job incorporating a more pop-focused structure and being an awesome closer to this album. It’s a song filled with passion, encompassing the themes behind the album. There’s a strange finality to it that is wrapped in the entirety of the song, and while I hope The Early November keeps making music, maybe this is the closer for not only the album, but the band.
The Early November’s Twenty is a fun listen. I think listeners will be able to relate to the music and lyrics and still hold this album close to their hearts even if their favorite The Early November album is The Room’s Too Cold or The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path. The tracks on Twenty are polished and new, yet there is a lingering feeling of every other album by the band thrown throughout that new fans and old school diehards will love about it.
Be sure to check out Twenty when it drops on October 14 through Pure Noise Records!
Check it out here.
