LA-based band Family of the Year have been around for a number of years now, making dedicated fans from their earliest days playing local clubs. But they had a really big boost with the appearance of their song, “Hero,” from their 2012 sophomore album, Loma Vista, in the 2014 Oscar-nominated film, Boyhood. The song became something of an international sensation, showing up in Top 10 charts throughout Europe, topping Billboard’s US Adult Alternative chart and even making an appearance in a Korean soap opera! But sooner or later the rollercoaster stops, and the question becomes how to follow up.
Well, for Family of the Year, the decision seemed surprisingly simple: stick with the basics and do what you do best (possibly signified by the choice to have the record be self-titled). Their new album is led by the uptempo single, “Make You Mine,” which overloads the ears with hooks aplenty, while tracks like “Carry Me” keep in the tradition of “Hero” with a sentimental ballad approach. The rest of the album shifts between these two poles in various degrees, with hand claps, ABBA-like boy/girl vocals, chiming guitars, driving keyboards, affirming lyrics and enough old-school catchy refrains to make REO Speedwagon jealous.
The ease with which all the songs on Family of the Year’s new record go down is remarkable. There seems little over-calculation on the record – just an innate sense of what works for them, and that makes for a band worth listening to.
-Eric J. Lawrence
Family of the Year will celebrate the release of their new album with free live performances at Amoeba Records in Hollywood on Tuesday, September 1 and Amoeba Records in San Francisco on Friday, September 4.
Tracklist:
- Make You Mine
- Facepaint
- Carry Me
- We Need Love
- May I Miss You
- Give a Little
- Blue Jean Girl
- Dead Poets
- The Dance
- Hey Kids