Equal Vision Records and New York-based pop-punk trio Young Culture are excited to announce the Friday, November 11 release of You Had To Be There, the band’s forthcoming full-length album. Recorded with Anton DeLost (State Champs, Silverstein, Mayday Parade) in Toronto, ON, it feels like the trio — vocalist Alex Magnan and guitarists Gabe Pietrafesa and Troy Burchett — are coming down from the lovestruck high of a year ago marked by the band’s Godspeed EP. Although similarly dramatic with catchy surges of unabashed emotion, You Had To Be There features a melancholy rush of high-octane energy with shadows that lurk within the foundations of these 10 songs.
Stream the album’s new single, “Kinda Over It,” a song about the shadiness, the back-and-forth and unnecessary headaches of a relationship that’s not quite a relationship, on YouTube HERE and on all platforms HERE. The trio had the following to share about the band itself and upcoming album:
“Young Culture has always been about making the most of your life, taking advantage of those good times, so come and do that with us. You’ll find us connecting with our pop-punk roots but with a new, refreshing aim. Short, sweet and to the point as we like to do it but packed full of memorable moments. If you’re missing out on the YC bandwagon, sorry, I can’t explain this one to you, I guess ‘You Had To Be There’.”
Additionally, Young Culture have also announced its co-headline tour with Super American along with dates supporting State Champs in select North American markets during October and November. Information on tickets can be found HERE, and a full listing of dates can be found below.
You Had To Be There, the forthcoming album from the Albany, NY trio Young Culture, builds on the foundation the band has laid down since its formation in 2016. It’s an album that defies the classic — and often true — notion of the difficult second record. This was anything but. What’s more, you can hear just how much freedom, joy, exuberance and fun was involved in the process of putting it all together. Due to the pandemic, the band didn’t have the opportunity to get a fair go at putting out and touring the first album, but the release of You Had To Be There almost represents another shot at doing the first album again. It very much feels like a true stamp of Young Culture, both in terms of where they’re at now and what they want for the future.
From the smooth and polished pop of opener “Not In Love” and the hybrid pop-punk of “Kinda Over It” — both songs about finding solace in the company of someone else, if only for one night — to the joyous, emphatic and triumphant strains of “We’re On Fire” and the forlorn but still defiant nature of “Know Better,” this is a record about making the most of now, of living in the present and having as much fun as possible, whatever you or the world are going through.
Musically, it’s also an unashamed nod to all the genres and bands that the trio love. On “Tattoo,” for example, the band reference listening to Backstreet Boys the same way they mentioned listening to Britney Spears on “Hum.” There are no concerns whatsoever that that might not be cool within the pop-punk scene, and nor should there be. In fact, it’s precisely that unbridled passion and unfiltered enthusiasm that makes You Had To Be There stand out.
It’s done in such a way, however, that the band are also looking forward to what’s next — both in the near future and the grand scheme of things — and are doing so with extra confidence. That’s something wholeheartedly reflected throughout the entire album, musically and lyrically, from the very first note to the very last.
“I really think this is something that you don’t want to miss out on,” vocalist Alex Magnan said. “I feel like it’s the sound of us coming into our own and making a record that is the most Young Culture thing ever. We were the most excited we’ve ever been to make the music on this album.”
You Had To Be There track listing:
1. Not In Love
2. Kinda Over It
3. Tattoo
4. Different Now
5. We’re On Fire
6. Silver Lining (Put It On Me)
7. Whiskey
8. Good Karma
9. Know Better
10. Serendipity