Mom Jeans graduate from their new sound in ‘Graduating Life’

Hidden in every Mom Jeans record are some heart-wrenching gems. For their upcoming third album, Sweet Tooth, released February 25th, that gem will be the band’s latest single ‘Graduating Life’. 

Sweet Tooth is the band’s first album in four years, since the group released Puppy Love in 2018, and will be the band’s first fully-studio recorded album. Sweet Tooth is produced by renowned emo-producer Brett Romnes, known for his work with Oso Oso, Sorority Noise, and The Front Bottoms, when they became good again. 

‘Graduating Life’ is the 4th single out from Sweet Tooth, and honestly, the only one I have really liked. It is the lightest single released so far, which is a welcome contrast from its more pop-punk influenced predecessors that feel so far detached from Mom Jeans’ characteristic sound. ‘Graduating Life’ could easily fit in on Puppy Love or 2016’s Best Buds, unlike the other new tracks. For those who have listened to Mom Jeans’ past albums, the track is the ‘now THIS is podracing’ of Sweet Tooth, or the retrospective cousin of ‘Scott Pilgrim Vs. My GPA’. 

In ‘Graduating Life’ the band have replaced their usual math-rock inspired guitar riffs with acoustic guitar strums, complemented beautifully by their signature warm brass refrains in the second half of the song. The short-and-sweet track is dripping with sentimentality, with anecdotal lyrics that provide the song’s retrospective mood. 

Reminiscence for both the band’s journey and life is a feeling intensified through the crowd-sung vocals in the latter part of the song (“This moment feels so nice / But you just can’t wait to graduate life”). The music video also invites nostalgia, featuring old footage of gigs, and childhood videos of the band. The track feels like a celebration of the band’s history, and an acknowledgement to the fan support that got the group to where they are today. 

I don’t have high hopes for Sweet Tooth. The relatable and depressing lyrics of past albums are gone, alongside the intricate drum rhythms, math-rock inspired riffs, and unpolished DIY sounds that I loved this band for. Even their witty and unrelated song titles (‘jon bong jovi’, ‘you can’t eat cats kevin’) are gone. But if, like me, you are a fan of Mom Jeans who has been disappointed by their recent tracks, ‘Graduating Life’ proves that the band are still worth a chance. 

I am not filled with enough teenage angst to enjoy any new Mom Jeans release as much as I did 2016’s Best Buds, but more nostalgic songs from the group definitely have the potential to send me down the rabbit-hole of exclusively listening to Mom Jeans again.