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![Future Teens Self Help Punk Rock Theory](https://www.punkrocktheory.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_style_square/public/future-teens-self-help-punk-rock-theory.jpg?itok=aH_FocOv)
Self Help, the third studio album from Future Teens, brings their "bummer pop" title to life with ten tracks that blend glittering pop melodies and emo-rock with profoundly vulnerable confessions. The band is distinctively unafraid to confront their struggles with mental health using cathartic anthems that transcend identity, time and space and ultimately allow them, and their fans, to find strength in each other, rather than alone. "We’ve all learned the hard way that the best (and sometimes only) way to help ourselves is to ask for help from others," says Amy Hoffman (vocalist/guitarist), explaining the origins of the album. "We didn’t set out to write a record about that, Daniel and I just happened to bring each other ideas with overlapping themes about mental health and struggling to get better - sometimes it’s like we have the same brain, even with such different lived experiences."
Describing the recording process, which involved mostly live instruments with help from longtime collaborator and producer Andy D. Park (Death Cab for Cutie, Pedro the Lion, Now Now), Hoffman shares, "Making Self Help with all four of us playing together live was the most hectic, fun, exhausting ten days, made all the better by our producer and friend Andy Park. His ability to turn our most esoteric ideas into something cooler than we had imagined is nothing short of magic."
The brand new single, "BYOB," recognizes the trials and tribulations of sobriety using the band's signature confessional, journal entry-like songwriting that feels like compelling a pep talk from your best friends. Hoffman explains, "It took me a long time to understand that I needed to stop drinking, longer still to learn I couldn’t do it on my own. BYOB came together over the first few months of my sobriety, starting when I thought I “just needed some time off” and ending when I realized if I wanted anything to actually get better, I had to keep trying."
After forming in 2014, Future Teens have been on the rise. Though 2020 halted their ascent, the group has maintained their momentum and are ready to re-introduce themselves in 2022. The four-piece is made up of guitarists/vocalists Amy Hoffman (they/he) and Daniel Radin (he/him), drummer Colby Blauvelt (he/him), and bassist Maya Mortman (she/her), who come together to make a concoction of earnest, explosive and vulnerable emo-rock-tinged pop with pounding drums, glistening guitar riffs and irresistible melodies. With their sly, self-aware lyricism and upbeat cathartic bangers, the band has caught the attention of several notable tastemakers like Stereogum, Substream Magazine, Boston's WBUR, who wrote the band "makes sadness sound like fun," and more.
Self Help track listing:
- Doorknob Confessional
- Good Reason
- Well Enough
- Smile with your Teeth
- BYOB
- Stress Dreams
- Team Sports
- Same Difference
- Real Change
- Going Pains