“The Kids From Yesterday” is a bittersweet send-off to a band that knew it was at its end

My Chemical Romance was more aware of its situation than they were willing to let on. By the time their fourth album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, was released in 2010, the emo scene that bred bands like Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco was over. The less successful bands either disappeared or changed musical (and clothing) styles. Danger Days was a departure for a band that made its name with unrelenting darkness. It’s an album full of bright and pounding rock songs that keep the band’s spirit but ditches the all-black dress code.

The Black Parade (2006), My Chem’s previous album, was a colossal hit. It distilled everything that made the band great into 52 minutes of loud guitars and catchy choruses. In a 2011 interview with Guitar World, lead guitarist Frank Toro recalled being tired of the success the album brought and being forced to wear black night after night. “We started to see The Black Parade as the enemy, one we wanted to kill on our next record,” he said. 

Danger Days presents a band at a creative crossroads. While the power-chord thrashing is prominent — “Party Poison” and “Bulletproof Heart” come to mind — there is a wider spectrum of songs. “Planetary (GO!)” is an upbeat disco-punk track fit for any coming apocalypse, and “Sing” is a classic overcome-any-challenge ballad. But the song that really showcases the band’s emotional range is “The Kids From Yesterday.”

“Well now, this could be the last of all the rides we take / So hold on tight and don’t look back,” Gerard Way sings in the opening lyric of this bittersweet rocker. He exercises a level of restraint that is rarely seen on their records. There’s no hiding that this is the band’s last hurrah, and it’s best for listeners to sit back and enjoy it.

Toro and Frank Iero pull away from big guitar riffs as if they are accepting the end of an era, both for popular music and for the band. The extent of their riffing here is a lead part that feels like movie credits, somber and light in its approach. Thematically, “The Kids From Yesterday” sticks to this vibe. There’s no cathartic chant and no upturn. The band is ready to end. “Here we are and we won’t stop breathing / Yell it out ’til your heart stops beating,” Way sings as the guitars escalate with heavily plucked notes. The crescendo creates a bombastic vibe that might be found on a late-’80s hair-metal track, but it never feels tacky. In fact, the lyrics, guitars and themes of the song are so heartfelt that it’s hard not to root for the band.

My Chemical Romance called it quits in 2013. Though there were a few singles released in the time between Danger Days and the band’s end, it’s hard not to think of “The Kids From Yesterday” as the band’s final statement. The second-to-last song on Danger Days, “Goodnite, Dr. Death,” pushes this theme even further: “Alright, children. The lights are out and party’s over,” and with “The Kids From Yesterday,” the band knew that its own party was coming to a close.

Even before “The Kids From Yesterday” the album is riddled with hints of the end. “Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back” explores the theme of leaving a place for one’s well-being, something that could be attributed to the band itself. “We can leave this world, leave it all behind / We can steal this car if your folks don’t mind / We can live forever / If you’ve got the time,” Way sings in the chorus, laying out the plan to run away to greener pastures, or, maybe, an underrated solo album.

The band encourages the listener to follow them down this path. On “Summertime” Way asks the listener, “How long until we find our way / In the dark and out of harm? / You can run away with me / Anytime you want.” But where is the band leading its fans? Emotional maturity? Toward a shift in pop culture? Regardless, fans would be remiss not to follow them because that path has some pretty great rock tunes on it.

“DESTROYA” doesn’t further the theme of growth but it brings back some of that theatrical punk spirit from The Black Parade into a poppier lens. “You don’t believe in God / I don’t believe in luck / They don’t believe in us / But I believe we’re the enemy!” These might not be the most insightful lyrics ever written but I’ll be damned if they don’t get the blood pumping when paired with loud thrashing guitars and a pounding drum beat.

The album’s closer, “Vampire Money,” serves two purposes. It shows the listener that the band isn’t going to go quietly, with the most pulse-pumping drum intro found on the album. In addition, the song pokes fun at other emo bands who had their music featured in the then-popular Twilight films. “When you wanna be a movie star / Play the game and take the band real far” could be fragments of conversations the band might’ve had when asked to give their songs to that franchise. “The kids don’t care if you’re alright honey / Pills don’t help, but it sure is funny / Give me, give me some of that vampire money / Come on!”

But perhaps the song is a send-up of the scene that My Chemical Romance helped popularize. Poking fun at the all-black outfits of their past and acknowledging that it was a little silly. “Hair back / Collar up / Jet black / So cool!” Way sings, tongue firmly in cheek.

In the time since My Chemical Romance’s break up, fan fervor over the slightest possibility of a reunion has been incessant. Most notably in 2016 when a ten-year anniversary reissue of The Black Parade was announced. If they were to reform, the poignancy of songs like “The Kids From Yesterday” would be taken away. My Chemical Romance took its last ride. Thankfully it was a good one.

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Feature image courtesy of Reprise Records
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