Larger than life and filled to the brim with catchy as hell, incredibly relatable bangers, The Wrecks’ new album, Sonder is some of their best work yet. Driven by vulnerable lyricism, there are no two songs on Sonder that sound the same, but emotionally, they all hit hard.
From massive pop-punk leaning anthems like the opener, “Sonder,” (which will have you singing along before it comes to an end) and the angsty “I Love This Part” to songs like poppy “Where Are You Now” featuring girlhouse, which leans towards Pixies “Where Is My Mind?”, to the guitar driven ballads like the dark “Dystopia” and “Unrequited” all the way to the loving “No Place I’d Rather Be”, The Wrecks hit every single mark. While the changes in sound and tone between songs can feel a bit jarring at times, there isn’t a single song on the album the sounds out of place or forced, proving just how moldable and dynamic the band is. There are songs that are driven by hip-hop influenced beats sitting easily alongside shining pop tracks, alongside radio ready singalongs, and it all just fits.
Lyrically, there are plenty of shining moments on Sonder, as well. The title track truly sets the tone for the rest of the album as vocalist/producer Nick Anderson cries, “I thought by now you would understand sonder,” and “Dystopia” follows the theme of many songs on the album in the line, “I think our love is destroying us.” A soon to be anthem for the outsiders, the second to last song on the album, “Normal” is easily one of Sonder’s shining moments, in relatable lines like “I just wanna see the world like everybody else does / I just wanna fall in love like everybody else does / how come it’s so hard for me? / what does it take to be normal?”.
As “Unholy” proclaims about halfway through Sonder, The Wrecks are “back and better than ever.” Throughout these eleven dynamic songs, the band effortlessly proves that they have the staying power and the songwriting prowess to become a heavy hitter in the alt-rock scene.