Future Teens - Deliberately Alive review

For as many albums and projects I listen to I don’t get to put much time into learning who the artists are lately, which is something I’ve missed. That being said the few weeks before this one were slow and I got to do some digging into stuff I wanted to know. After really being impressed with Deliberately Alive and having it on rotation for weeks I wanted to know; who are Future Teens. Well just to give a brief summary they appear to be an indie rock quartet from Boston, MA with a discography going as far back as 2017 comprising of drummer Colby Blauvelt, bassist Maya Mortman and co-guitarists and lead singers Amy Hoffman and Daniel Radin who as opposed to having a duet set up seem to take their individual leads on individual songs. This information was especially exciting to me as, when live music is allowed to happen, Boston is a fairly local scene to me and this would definitely be something I’d want to check out. I would like to draw your attention to their EP from this year as like I said it’s been a pretty heavy rotation for me lately.

The first single “Guest Room” may just end up being one of my favorite tracks all year. This thing grabs you immediately with it’s hype guitar intro, sailing vocals and a bass driven verse that are just so good. The chorus, though short and sweet, makes use of both vocalists present with a great harmony. Not much change up in the second verse but the the note rise at the line;

“I’ve told a few friends who say, ‘be gentle kid,’ but that only works some of the time”

Makes for some really nice emphasis. In spite of the verse-chorus formula making it a bit predictable we do get a slow down followed by a guitar solo section that makes the song not feel so repetitive. In the third chorus we drop the harmony and the spotlight belongs solely to Amy which makes it hit much harder in my opinion though I’m not sure it would without the harmony part to contrast it. Speaking of hitting hard the lyrics;

“Not sure which one I fear worse, going young or getting old, Guess I’ll take whatever comes first.”

Is another really impactful message that leads into a big rock ending that slow burns then explodes for a straight minute. Not to mention the final vocals being delivered over that drum fill? Perfect ending.

The second single as well as the next track on the EP is titled “Play Cool” is a nice contrast to the explosive one before it and almost sounds like it would be at home in a middle school dance in the best way. Even if you listened to it by itself though you would get that with a mood-switching guitar chord right before the chorus sets in. The chorus itself has lots of good going on with it’s beautiful vocal delivery, echoey backing chords and the guitar work overall. The bridge of the song has this really wacky riff that to hear shine you’d have to listen for closely. Have to applaud the vocal harmonies again as that line right before the final chorus is a power move.

“Sometimes your best is bad in context, I don’t think I want it all to go back.”

Now those were just the singles and the release of the whole thing gave us two more original cuts with “Separated Anxiety” and “Bizarre Affection.” “Anxiety” certainly sounds like a track one as it kind of sounds like an extended intro track. The bass and drums mash so well together here that they almost sound like one instrument if you aren’t paying attention. More hard hitting, but also relatable lyrics here;

“I don’t hate myself I guess, I’m just tired and overwhelmed”

The second verse is much more full even head bopable in a nice, slow way. Toward the end the harmonies once again become the MVP as well as a twisty riff section. With how lively it gets by the outro it's still pretty intro track but in a much more excitable way.

The intro to “Bizarre Affection” has some air of familiarity to it though I can’t quite put my finger on it. That familiarity ends fairly quickly though as similar to “Guest Room” the intro here is almost like it’s own independent idea. Basslines are very strong here and the chord between each line change makes for a very nice contrast builder. Lyrically this song has the best example, I feel, of something the lyrics throughout the entire sixteen minute experience does well, which is just be brutally honest without the use of any real metaphors. The chorus lyrics even change here and that’s always an interesting touch. In another similarity to the first single this song closes out in a big way using the drums to build to an alt chaos closing it out and even has that estranged intro make its way back to the overall structure of the whole thing.

There is a fifth track here which is a sad indie rendition of Cher’s “Believe.” Honestly the track was unique enough that up until the obviously very familiar chorus I didn't even recognize it, though maybe it’s just because it’s been so long since I’ve heard the original.

I’ve gotten the chance over the past couple weeks to go back and listen to the few years of backlog of Future Teens’ music and I can honestly say that each release is better than the last with this being no exception. Sometimes the song structure gets a little formulaic, a little predictable but it’s also very strong lyrically, the vocal harmonies are all stunning and it’s instrumentally so warm. Yet another EP that makes me really yearn for live music this year and comes at an easy recommendation.