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Sibling duo Durry are back in action with their genre-blending sophomore album, This Movie Sucks. The long-awaited sophomore LP is a celebration, not just of the current moment but of the way Durry has transformed a negative situation into a creative outlet that has connected them with other people all over the world. The band's journey during the pandemic, which forced them to slow down and move back home, is a central theme of the album. "If we weren't forced to slow down [due to the pandemic], I don't think any of this would have happened," Austin admits. "Moving back home was a really humbling experience but it was really good."

The album opens with "Bully," a track that immediately grabs your attention with its gritty guitar, pounding kick drum, and a bold opening line that demands to be heard: "Greetings people of the Internet/ It's your friend/ From the real world." Austin's feverish, animated vocals plead with the audience to wake the f*ck up to the toxic nature of the internet, with the lyrics striking a personal chord as they remind us that we often use the internet as our sounding board, forgetting that there are real humans on the other side of the screen. This scathing anthem, brimming with wry humor, is a standout on the album and instantly became one of my favorites.

This energy continues on the cynical following track, "Monopoly Money," and then shifts gears on the title track, "This Movie Sucks." Pulling us in with dreamy, retro vibes while ramping us up with an anthemic chorus, there's a strong, cinematic feel in every aspect of the track down to the details. Using industry terminology and a third-person point of view, which is often how we watch a movie, the song begins by enveloping us in familiar sounds from our childhoods, a callback to the dreamy, synth-forward opening credits of movies that evoke nostalgia for us all. It continues with soft tones, as Austin's gritty, fatigued vocals come in delivering a jaded intro. The tiredness is intentional, reinforcing the message behind the pessimistic words.

The album is full of standout tracks, including the energetic "Porcupine," garage-punk-infused "Start a Band," and the infectious "Good Grief." Still, my personal favorite is the extremely relatable "idk i just work here." Dubbed a "minimum wage anthem" by the band, it's a quirky, fast-paced, balls-to-the-wall pop punk masterpiece. It captures the frustration of being overworked and underpaid, doomed to rot at the bottom of the corporate ladder. The hilarious usage of familiar workplace idioms packs a punch alongside catchy instrumentation reminiscent of bands like Weezer, serving as a sharp commentary on how normalized it's become to sacrifice our self-worth and well-being for a system that couldn't care less about the working class.

The album closes on the surprisingly hopeful closer "Slug Bug." It opens in folk territory with the bright, playful sound of a harmonica and acoustic guitar, serving as a seamless transition from the previous song, the stripped-back "The Long Goodbye," into a folk-indie rock fusion. As the track progresses, it builds into something more expansive as layers of instrumentation blend into the fold. The duo meditates on the trap of nostalgia and how idealizing the past can discourage you from fully living in the now, only to look back on this time with the same sentiment and become stuck in a cycle of yearning for what you had. It's a touching reminder to stay present before it passes you by and becomes just another memory. Overall, the song feels like a gentle exhale at the end of a chaotic journey.

This Movie Sucks is an album for the post-COVID world. Bad news is oversaturating the media, and media literacy rates, and literacy rates in general, are declining. People seem to be more indifferent and hopeless than ever. The planet is starting to crumble to an irreparable level as the weight of capitalism crushes everyone slowly. EVERY DAY I WANT TO SCREAM INTO THE VOID...but that's a convo for another day. This album is an ode to all the negatives in life, shedding light on them through humor and sharp wit. Durry has built itself on airing the struggles of life through good music, and this album tells a story of how to combat them. Durry should be admired and celebrated for the courage they have for writing about these very real topics with such honesty and humor, making this album the kind of record you listen to when you feel like nobody understands how you feel.

Don't worry though. Durry does, and you can cry on their shoulder as we all try to survive together.