Five Albums For Recent College Grads

Graduating is terrifying. The “best four years of your life” are over and suddenly you have to be a grown up. The first few days you wake up expecting to be in your dorm, living amongst your friends with no responsibilities beyond your own education and perhaps a campus job. Then reality kicks in and you’re back at your folks’ or you’re moved into a new apartment and life is waiting for you to start. So here’s a list for everyone who is terrified; for whom adulthood feels less like the next step and more like a dead drop into the horrifying life of your parents’, minus the financial security; for everyone for whom the cap and gown has come off. Here are five albums to jam to as you unpack your college boxes for the last time, to sing to after you sign your first lease and to dance to when you just want to pretend you’re a kid again.

Alex Gasgarath and gang are the dick-joke-slinging, Mohawk-rocking, perpetually-sixteen-year-olds of pop punk. They’ve aged both literally and musically since their debut Put Up or Shut Up, but a part of them still shines through on every album. Don’t Panic and it’s follow-up are great examples of a return to basic. A return home. Lyrically, it deals with a lot more than parties and girls (typical topics on an ATL album) while still cultivating a tone that sounds like the same band. This, their most grown-up album to date, still feels young. ATL is still writing killer songs like “Somewhere in Neverland” that are not only fun, but also increasingly applicable the older you get. They remind us that although band members, college grads, and everyone else grows up eventually, it doesn’t mean we can’t still dye half our hair blonde and quote Chevy Chase movies in polite conversation.

Blink-182’s return/reunion was much anticipated and met with mixed emotions. Some were so starved for a release that an hour of Mark Hoppus burping the ABCs would’ve sold well and been met with rave reviews. Instead we got Neighborhoods, a collection of songs unlike the rest of the Blink catalogue. The influences of each band member can be heard in every track and the result is a marrying of sounds that somehow finds a home amongst one another. Younger albums sounded more like the product of garage jam sessions, which at the time was exactly what Blink fans ordered. Neighborhoods is a polished effort from well-seasoned musicians who proved that they could overcome personal differences to produce a great album despite a long absence. They may be a long way from “Dammit” but they still pack the same punch. Maybe adulthood isn’t so bad.

Foster’s debut album Torches was a patch-heavy, danceable roller coaster comprised of crescendos, pianos, and Mark Foster’s borderline falsetto. Their second album was a strip down sound-wise. The band followed up their riotous first act with a calmer, softer album that was almost repetitive in its consistency of sound. The electronics have been largely replaced by acoustic guitar and a mellower approach. “Coming of Age,” the leading single out of the gate, is the perfect song for anyone emotionally wrecked over the fact that they now have a diploma. The jaunty guitars and drums will keep you bopping despite the introspective lyrics. Just like the relationship in the song, college has come of age and we, the graduating class, are ready for more. Keep going and remember the line, “I’m always moving forward and not looking back.”

Andrew McMahon’s pet project, Jack’s Mannequin, was what the world needed when Something Corporate broke up. The tales of Californian life, wine, and high rent were so welcoming. It was easy for anyone listening to the album to daydream of such a life. I mean, who wouldn’t want to hang out in Venice with Andrew and the boys? From “Dark Blue” to “The Mixed Tape,” every song feels tailored to the listener and yet unique to Andrew all at once. “I’m Ready” and “MFEO” in particular seem written for anyone graduating. Sure, they’re probably about a girl, but whatever, you’re ready (and still the same impulsive drunk you were when you were small.)

Sometimes you forget Relient K is technically filed as Christian Rock. Matt Thiessen is such a potent lyricist that any listener can apply the band’s lyrics to his/her own situation without attaching any meaning to their intention. Belting along to “This Week the Trend” and “Life After Death and Taxes” (especially after graduation) feels like listening to your own thoughts. For three minutes, you’re a teenager again and someone gets what you’re feeling (which never happens because you’re a tweenie bopper, remember) and you can forget about the current state of the job market. It’s also a brilliant album to dance around to, and dancing is a must-do in this window.