RETROSPECTIVE: Future Teens' "Hard Feelings" via Take This to Heart / hands in

The members of Future Teens have come together with Take This to Heart records to new label, hands in. To celebrate the launch, they have released a sixth anniversary edition of their first record. I have written about every single Future Teens full length aside from this one up till this point and what better way to finally do that then to show support for the unveiling of their own label? The new edition comes with the base record as well as three bonus tracks, one of which is a cover song that was previously released as a single back in 2018.

The first thing I notice going back to this one is, while Future Teens have always been honest, they were brutally so on their first go around. There are memorable and blunt lines all over this thing, one of which I think about quite a bit being “we disagree on everything except that we should not be dating.” “Expiration Dating” as a song concept is gut wrenching, the sense that at the start of something new you know it cannot possibly last. That and songs like “DTFL” (down to fall in love) are devastating. Their overall musicianship has of course improved on future releases but that’s not to say any of this is anything to overlook. The indie rock stylings are stellar here, but the band had not yet developed that classic “bummer pop” sound they have mastered today.

Daniel and Amy are just as strong a co-vocalist team back then as they were now with the biggest improvement in later records being that I think the two have found a much better balance of lead duties on the second and third record. Amy especially comes across with a lyrical method of self-destructive reassurance as opposed to the self-hating quips they branded later on. Though I will say, the “heard your boyfriend’s an asshole line?” Pretty good.

With Hard Feelings of course comes “In Love or Whatever,” possibly the most iconic Future Teens track. It’s for sure the strongest here and has a really distinctive intro. Lyrics about dating sites and doomed love is the Future Teens thing even in the current year and that chorus is a DIY all-timer. The “Boston sucks” moment is pure magic and all it needed to be were those backing vocals. That crowd singing along makes it perfect. I can say now, safely, that this moment absolutely goes live. I was able to see Future Teens earlier this year in a Mexican place in Portland and even there they managed to make it something that absolutely froze time.

I always get nervous posting about Future Teens, because I know they’ll read it. Daniel told me himself in that Mexican restaurant that he reads everything I put out about his band. So hey, if any of you are reading this, thanks again. The night we met I was going through a lot. It wasn’t the type of a lot I was going through back east and it all worked out in a really positive way. But that night gave me and someone close to me a lot of positive light on a difficult situation. I wasn’t lying though, I was doing better than I was back home, and I’m doing even better now.

I love this record

1. Sleep Schedule
2. What's My Sign Again?
3. Girlfriend on a Gap Year
4. In Love or Whatever
5. Expiration Dating
6. Learned Behavior
7. Party Ethic
8. Kissing Chemistry
9. Giving Up on Crushes
10. DTFL
11. Bored and Alone [bonus]
12. Literally Falling for You [bonus]
13. Dreams [The Cranberries cover, bonus]

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