Listening to a Teenage Halloween album is like letting yourself scream in the middle of a crisis. Their sophomore effort, Till You Return, is dosed in questions about moments of catastrophe and euphoria, from managing mental health to queer identity to the threat of armageddon. Everything might be falling apart for the New Jersey band, but it never sounds or feels overwhelming—as they’re still trafficking in hooky, guitars-blaring pop punk and wailed, cathartic vocal melodies. If much of this new album is Teenage Halloween constantly asking “How am I supposed to deal with all of this shit?” to no one in particular, then the answer can also be found easily here. It turns out that the weight of the world is much easier to deal with if you keep singing about it.
Produced by Philadelphia’s Joe Reinhart, who’s best known for his guitar playing in Hop Along and producing records like Joyce Manor’s Never Hungover Again and Modern Baseball’s Holy Ghost, Till You Return has echos of those aforementioned artists. Several of Teenage Halloween’s songs call to mind Joyce Manor’s chopping, spirited drumming or whenever Bren Lukens’ self-depictions came across as sweet. But bandleader Luk Henderiks seems constantly focused on the album’s choruses—the kind of hooks that immediately announce themselves as earworms—in a nearly obsessive way.
Early highlight “Doctor,” with its fuzzed-out, octave-based guitar lead and palm-muted power chord backing, recalls The Get Up Kids at their brightest, especially in the similar snarl of Hendricks’ voice when compared to Matt Pryor’s shout. While “Doctor” opens strong, the classic rock drum groove of the chorus and harmonized gang-vocals help emphasize Hendricks’ simple, emphatic hook: “I need a doctor to cure my pain / It’s a nightmare, I’m living in shame.” But the little touches are what elevate “Doctor” into magnificence: the hammer-ons of the double-time guitar solo, Henderiks’ deft but not overbearing touch of optimism at the end of each chorus (“You’re not alone”), and the chiming, percussive piano part poking through the folds of the mix.
With the one-two punch of “Supertrans” and “Takeaway,” Till You Return kicks off via a pair of tunes that use erupting frustration as a launching pad for guitar warfare. “Supertrans” features the album’s best drum performance, partially indebted to Tré Cool and partially to drummer Peter Gargano’s god-given thwacking ability. Split between Hendricks’ vocals and a guitar lead, the melody helps underline a classic set of their lyrics, where they yelp “Take my identity seriously” to cap off a song that could be the album’s mission statement. Immediately after, “Takeaway” maintains an exhausting tempo that brings to mind the band’s namesake, “Twinkle” by Jeff Rosenstock, or one of the more relentless songs by The Homeless Gospel Choir, who split a 2022 seven-inch with Teenage Halloween.
It’s clear that Luk Henderiks’ songwriting is often the driving force of Till You Return but the album doesn’t forget to showcase the talents of the other band members. You’re left wishing for more tunes sung by bassist Tricia Marshall: On “Getting Bitter,” the weight of the song is held in the verse, where Marshall’s sweet voice is absorbed in an orchestra of guitars and washed-out drum beats. Whenever the hook appears again, Marshall puts down a jumpy, almost twee bassline, almost snapping you out of the verse’s hard-earned atmosphere. With the bouncy “Say It,” Marshall expresses exhaustion with scene creeps and know-it-all men, singing “Cause I don’t want to spend my Friday night / Looking over my shoulder for your eyes,” harmonized with lead guitarist Eli Frank. On both songs, Henderiks appears for a line or two, acting as a solid Greek chorus to Marshall’s shrewd storytelling.
There are moments on the backhalf of Till You Return where the steady, relentless pop punk sound can feel suffocating, although Teenage Halloween often takes strong efforts here to subvert their house style. “Cut The Ties” is clearly one of the record’s weaker songs, but Gargano’s intriguing drum fills help differentiate things. The same happens on “Lights Out,” where a rudimentary guitar part is paired with a circular synthesizer melody. Closer “Oh The Drama” starts off with the plodding comfort of Pavement’s cleanest guitar parts and ends like PUP at their most triumphant. It never hurts to toss a “We Will Rock You” drum beat onto your album, if just for a moment.
It becomes increasingly clear that Teenage Halloween are at their best when they are at their sugariest. Till You Return touches upon looming threats, embarrassments, and the shittiest dudes in a music scene—from coming out to your parents to exploiting your own trauma for music’s sake—but these anxieties merge into one on “Armageddon Now.” Co-written by guitarist Frank, it’s a song of “crazy fucking fears,” as Henderiks sings. But Teenage Halloween seem grateful for each other: When everything looks or sounds like it’s falling apart, you’re left with your friends. If we were all together, ripping guitar parts as immediately unforgettable as the one that anchors “Armageddon Now,” we’d all be better prepared for these kinds of disasters.
Ethan Beck is a writer from Pittsburgh who is currently living in Manhattan. His work can be found at Bandcamp, No Ripcord and others.
