Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! Gone Are The Good Days Review: Track-By-Track Breakdown

Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! just released an album, and that means summer is finally here! Following a summer of virtual interactions, financial insecurity, and political frustration, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! are making a stand. summer of 2021 has to be better, and it needs to make up for what came before it. Quarantine had the band busy, and instead of producing an EP as originally planned, Chunk managed to create a full album. “Gone Are The Good Days” isn’t just any album though. The easycore record is exactly what the world needed. Let’s break down what makes this record the soundtrack to the summer of 2021 in this Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! Gone Are The Good Days track-by-track album review.

FFO: A Day To Remember, Four Year Strong, New Found Glory, Across the Atlantic, Sink The Ship

Listen to: Bitter, Drift Away, Made For More, True Colors, Complete You

Gone Are The Good Days Review

Bitter

“Bitter” is the lead single for “Gone Are The Good Days”, and what a great reintroduction it was! If there was ever a better time to finally sample the Goonies – which they got their name from – it is now. After six years of waiting, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! are back, and they scream it from the rooftops. I remember how giddy I was after the initial release of this track. It showcased a promising take on easycore that felt mature yet still featured a heavy (and fun!) breakdown. The best part is that “Bitter” isn’t even the heaviest song on the album. Fortunately Chunk didn’t put all of their eggs in one basket. “Bitter” is the perfect way to now only come back with a bang, but to also start off the summer album of 2021.

Drift Away

I am surprised more people aren’t talking about this one. “Drift Away” is classic Chunk, and maybe the most “fun” track on the record. It sounds like the perfect song for a drive to the beach – well the whole album does – but this track goes full beachcore. Honestly, there is one single part of this song that sets it above most of the non-singles on “Gone Are The Good Days”. This would have to be the laugh worthy clean easycore breakdown. It is just ridiculous. They chug and blast beat to the happiest little second verse I’ve ever heard. It is an absolute riot. I couldn’t even believe what I was hearing. Chunk are at their best when they have fun with it, and “Drift Away” is as fun as it gets.

Other fans seem to share my sentiments regarding this track, as “Drift Away” currently has double – and sometimes triple – the amount of plays on Spotify when compared to the other non-singles from “Gone Are The Good Days”. Could we be looking at the next track to receive a music video? Considering their label (Fearless Records) has yet to upload an official video for the track, this just could end up being the case.

Can we take a minute to appreciate the album cover in the thumbnail above? What a vibe. Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! really nailed the aesthetics this time around.

Gone Are The Good Days

The second single – and title track of the album – is the accessible summer song of 2021. For many Chunk fans, this song will likely not be your favorite, but there isn’t anything necessarily wrong with it. My friends and girlfriend really enjoy the song, so the band was smart to release it as a single to promote the record. However, “Gone Are The Good Days” has grown on me more and more since it released. I find the song to have a great attitude behind it. The Toy Story reference in the music video is a nice touch too! The catchy track is sure to score a spot on plenty of summer and pop punk playlists. Chunk says the good days are gone, but I think they are only just getting started.

Marigold

This song takes Chunk out of their incredibly comforting comfort zone. The song has a snapping and clapping islander sound to it. Have I mentioned “Gone Are The Good Days” is full of perfect summer songs? “Marigold” is something I never thought I would hear from the “Pardon My French” band. The song is loving, cute, and beautiful. I typically have never enjoyed ballads or softer songs by Chunk, but they really nailed it this time. They delivered the track by stepping out of their comfort zone while embracing who they are. This is a mature version of the band that I still appreciate. “Marigold” is the perfect all-grown-up Chunk track.

Made For More

This might be my favorite track on the entire record. “Made For More” is easycore as hell. Similar to “Haters Gonna Hate” from “Pardon My French”, the track is bouncy, full of riffs, and catchy and playful. The heavy aspect of the sound – including the rough vocals delivered by Bertrand Poncet in the chorus – retains the summer sound of the record while delivering a performance a fan of metalcore would approve of. Poncet asks “where do we go now, when the whole goes down with flames? We are made for more than this false sense of safety”, and this fits in very well with the post-pandemic world. It shows that this album was created during a pandemic, and I compliment Chunk on their ability to retain such a fun sound while recording in such unfortunate global circumstances.

Another band that brought the fun during the pandemic is Eskimo Callboy. The German metalcore band released the silly, fun, and contagious “Hypa Hypa”. If any band was to recapture this type of fun, it was always Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!.

Additionally, I love the Nickelodeon aesthetic within the new lyric videos on Fearless Records Youtube channel. The neon flamingo, Optimus Prime figure, Gengar figurine, and Barney Gumble figurine are all nostalgic as hell.

True Colors

Consider me spoiled, because the other contender for “best track on the entire record” comes right after “Made For More”. “True Colors” is a fantastic track. The almost western like – cowboy inspired – intro riff sets a fun and adventurous tone to the whole track. The song has a darker sound and features darker lyrical content than most songs on the record. The verses even contain backing deep growls. Thanks to the fun opening riff and energetic chorus, the track is the perfect heavy banger for the summer of 2021. Who knew heavy and summer vibes fit so well? Can we get a metalcore beach record from someone soon? Maybe “Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!” LP Five? “True Colors” will fill this void single handedly for now.

After the two minute mark – and following the sudden breakdown after the first chorus – the chugging of the guitars and rolling of the drums leads a groovy and heavy second verse. Chunk are really in their element here. It is catchy as hell and worthy of some neck rolling and head banging. The chorus even conveys a heavy attitude. The track then ends with the return of the fun riff from the beginning of the track. This is a moody version of Chunk that I love to hear. Raise hell while driving to the beach this summer with “True Colors”.

Good Luck

If there is any filler on the record, to me it is “Good Luck”. There is nothing wrong with the track, but every other song of the record have at least one big thing that makes it stand out. “Complete You” has a saxophone in the bridge, “Drift Away” has a happy breakdown with blast beats, “True Colors” is heavy and fun, but “Good Luck” kind of just exists. I wouldn’t skip the track, as I enjoy listening to “Gone Are The Good Days” in full on a nice summer drive.

The song is incredibly short, running at only two minutes and 24 seconds. I like to think of it as a short-and-sweet palate cleanser, or an interlude if you must. It separates the heavy “True Colors” and the catchy and wonderful “Complete You”, and I appreciate it for filling the gap here.

Complete You

Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! singer Bertrand Poncet declares “Complete You” “the best Chunk song ever”, and he might be on to something. While many fans like myself enjoy Chunk when they fully embrace easycore, as far as an accessible and mature track goes, “Complete You” is an evolution. The track is mature, catchy, well-written, and performed masterfully. It is honestly just a very well crafted song. If one track has to take the crown for the summer song of 2021, I think “Complete You” comes out on top. I can effortless imagine the track being in a summer movie.

The best part of the song – and a huge contributing factor to the mature sound – is the jazzy saxophone led bridge. I think I would take jazzy bridges over most breakdowns after hearing this. Honestly, my main complaint is that now I want more! Can most Chunk songs feature a saxophone moving forward? Heck throw it over a full-fledged breakdown. I need to hear this. If Yellowcard was the punk band with a violin, Chunk should be the easycore band with a saxophone (does this already exist? Please educate me if so).

My one – real – complaint if that for some reason the track just fades out and ends during the third chorus. If the chorus got to run to full completion again, it may have been my favorite track on the whole record. It leaves me wanting more and feeling a little teased, but oh well! I still adore the song.

Last but not least, the track features AJ Perdomo of The Dangerous Summer. This is a first for Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, as the band is a stranger to features. AJ sounds great on the track and adds a lot of flavor to his verses. I have never listened to The Dangerous Summer, but I guess I will have to now!

Blame It On This Song

Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! have caused a glitch in the Matrix. They created an album with two winners of the “summer song of the year” award. How is this possible? Because one of the tracks on the album is the summer song of 2016. Yep, Chunk dominated the summer of 2016 with the swinging “Blame It On This Song”. As someone who believes the track is one of their best ever – and a true easycore summer anthem – the wait for new Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! music was extra long this time. I felt like the band was just getting started and then they went silent.

The fun and bouncy track is half a decade old so its inclusion on the album is odd, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. The album is cohesive and every track works together – “Blame It On This Song” is no exception – it would be unfortunately if the song was left in the dust as a stand-alone single. Unfortunately the track never received a music video, but at least now I can own it on a physical CD.

Painkillers

Is this Blinding Lights? The song starts off a little like The Weeknd’s hit 80’s inspired track. This changes quick though, and the familiar Chunk sound kicks in. “Painkillers” is the least “summery” song on “Gone Are The Old Days”, but it is still a punkish anthem nonetheless. The chorus brings an energy I can imagine working well live. The song is the darkest on the record in both sound and lyric content, but the Warped Tour vibes are all still here.

Despite my rambling thoughts, the track is great. The ending breakdown is one of Chunks best in ages, and once again I can see this track going off in a live setting. Heck a summer Chunk tour would probably make this song feel “summery” after all.

Tongue Tied

Earlier I mentioned Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! ballads. There is indeed one on “Gone Are The Good Days“. “Tongue Tied” is a romantic track perfect for some seasonal romance. This is definitely a different side of Chunk from anything we have ever heard from the band. Both “Pardon My French” and “Get Lost, Find Yourself” – their second and third albums respectively – featured a couple of softer ballads. These songs were calm and relaxing, but they did not have the copious amounts of emotion found in “Tongue Tied”.

Another unique thing about this track – like “Complete You” before it – is that it features a guest vocalist. The talented Yvette Young of Covet lends her pipes on the track. I never expected a collaborating between these two, but they picked a great musician to collaborate with. By utilizing another vocalist, Chunk is able to tell a story from two different point of views.

I like the track. It is a nice penultimate track that sets up the closing of the album. I for one am glad to hear this side of the band. “Tongue Tied” proves that Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! have grown a lot in the last six years, but still know where they came from.

Fin.

“Fin.” starts off with a beat that reminds me of Wii Sports Resort or something from Nintendo. Fun fact: When performing live, the band frequently comes on-stage to the Super Mario Bros. theme. Perhaps this vibe isn’t a coincidence? The beat follows along with a rhythm created by programmed snapping. The song is a fitting final track to a soundtrack. Like “Complete You”, I can totally imagine “Fin.” playing in a movie.

I think it is poetic that this is the final track, because I believe it is the perfect combination of old and new Chunk. The track is mature – especially the pre-chorus – but the song still contains all the instrumentation and energy the band are known for. Bert is aware of this, and screams “this is my soundtrack to the end” before an instrumental bridge leads the listener into the final chorus. The song reminds me of a more amped up version of Oh No. by Bring Me The Horizon. The movie-soundtrack-sounding track was the final song and closed the album out in a similar emotional fashion. I enjoy “Fin.”, but I think the track hits best following a full listen of the album in full.

Closing Thoughts:

Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! found the perfect mix being nostalgic easycore and mature well-crafted song writing. This album is definitely the French band’s best collective record. Each of their three previous records had some stronger points, but none of the records themselves were as solid as a collective unit. After a six year wait, I am left satisfied, and I believe Chunk came back at the most fitting time possible. Thank you for releasing the summer record of 2021, and making the season feel enjoyable and fun.

Final Verdict: 9/10 Shells

Gone Are The Good Days CD And Vinyl

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