Four Year Strong

Make no mistake: Four Year Strong loves the '90s. Not only is its pop-hardcore sound a throwback to genre innovators the Movielife (as well as the guys who took it to the bank, New Found Glory) but its new covers album, Explains It All, is a love letter to the decade that gave us "Ice Ice Baby," "I Wanna Sex You Up," and "Nookie." Fortunately, FYS decided against taking on any of those "classics" — instead, the band pays tribute to its pop influences, from the credible (Nirvana's "In Bloom") to the, uh, not so much (Sugar Ray's "Fly"). Still, it takes guts to admit that groups as banal as Del Amitri or Nine Days influence the music you make now, and for that, we give FYS props. Given that the band has only one full-length of original material, it will undoubtedly work some of these covers into its headlining set — and hopefully, "Semi-Charmed Life" will show up, as it's the disc's best.