Growing Up Is Killing Me＜Blue & Pink Vinyl＞

Blending the sweet uncertainty of pop-punk, the drive of skatepunk, and the soaring guitars of old-fashioned arena-ready power pop, Veara deliver an album that's equal parts earnest and energetic with Growing Up Is Killing Me. The third effort from the Augusta, Georgia quartet, the album offers up a take on pop-punk that walks the tightrope of feeling youthful without falling into the twin hazards of sophomoric irreverence and teenage melodrama. While the songs themselves, with their huge guitars and stampeding drums, feel huge, there's a realness about the lyrics that helps to keep the whole thing grounded in reality. On "Between Friends and a Hard Place," the song's narrator is caught in the middle of a group of friends that's dissolving and, in the spirit of coming of age evoked by the album's title, decides to let those friends sort things out for themselves rather than get caught up in the drama. These situations help to make Growing Up Is Killing Me an album that can provide advice to those moving into this stage of their lives while still being relatable to an older set, acting as both cautionary tale and fond reminiscence. While the title might be a lamentation on becoming older and more mature, Veara seem to be taking it in stride. Fortunately for them, their sound still has plenty of fire in it, so even though they might feel more grown-up, they're still a long way from sounding old. ~ Gregory Heaney