For(n)ever
Studio album by
Hoobastank
ReleasedJanuary 27, 2009 (2009-01-27)
Studio
Genre
Length38:35
LabelIsland
ProducerHoward Benson
Hoobastank chronology
Every Man for Himself
(2006)		 For(n)ever
(2009)		 Is This the Day?
(2010)
Singles from Fornever
  1. "My Turn"
    Released: October 14, 2008
  2. "So Close, So Far"
    Released: January 27, 2009
  3. "The Letter"
    Released: June 19, 2009

Fornever is the fifth studio album by American rock band Hoobastank, released on January 27, 2009. It is their last album released on Island Records. Upon its release, the album peaked at number 26 on the US Billboard 200.[1]

Pre-release

In October 2007, Doug Robb posted on the official Hoobastank message boards and said that they have "Set the bar very very high for this next CD" and that they have "More ideas going into this CD than ever before".

On June 2, 2008 Robb posted an update on their temporary website, announcing that the recording process of their album was almost done and to expect a release date within a couple of weeks.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(51/100)[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Blender[5]
Boston Globe(favorable)[6]
NOW[7]

Fornever garnered mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 51, based on 4 reviews.[3]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine commended Hoobastank for moving away from the modern rock mechanics to craft a relationship record with sincerity and empathy for its subject matter, concluding that "Prior to this, they seemed more concerned with airplay than emotion, so it's nice to see their human side slip through even if it isn't particularly pleasant to hear."[4] Scott McLennan of the Boston Globe was favorable towards the band for sticking to what made them successful in previous efforts, saying "[F]ormulaic though the album may be, the band musters enough craft and personality to keep it afloat. The band is at its best when mixing pop melancholy with strident guitar rock."[6] Jon Dolan, writing for Blender, criticized the band for attempting to recreate the grunge sound by utilizing their standard musicianship formula ("the sturdy A/B rhyme, the grandly surging chorus, the self-actualized underdog salvo"), concluding that "Album four is especially monochrome gut-check metal, so flourishes of mellow pianos or cargo-shorts funk are as welcome as a bag of Skittles in a pack of combat rations. Even Kurt knew that soldiers need some sweets."[5] Jordan Bimm of NOW heavily panned the album, saying "[T]heir un-evolved post-grunge alt-rock is just another shitty sonic time capsule from 1998. All 11 tracks feature painfully predictable song structures and lethargic chord progressions devoid of anything resembling a hook."[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Hoobastank except where noted[1]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Turn"Hoobastank, Tom Robb3:09
2."I Don't Think I Love You" 3:39
3."So Close, So Far"Hoobastank, Jeff Blue3:14
4."All About You" 2:55
5."The Letter" (Duet with Vanessa Amorosi featured in Australian and European versions) 3:54
6."Tears of Yesterday" (feat. string arrangements by David Campbell) 3:56
7."Sick of Hanging On" 3:13
8."You're the One" 3:55
9."Who the Hell Am I?" 3:59
10."You Need to be Here" 3:01
11."Gone Gone Gone" 3:36
Total length:38:31
Japanese and digital reissue bonus tracks[8]
No.TitleLength
12."Replace You"4:20
13."Stay With Me"4:07
Total length:8:27

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 88
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10] 6
US Billboard 200[1] 26

Release history

Region Date Catalog #
United States January 27, 2009 1239902
Japan January 28, 2009 CD:UICL-1081
CD+DVD:UICL-9070
Australia June 26, 2009 2708708
France March 3, 2009

References

  1. 1 2 3 Billboard.com - Discography - Hoobastank - For(n)ever
  2. ↑ "Studio Update: June 2, 2008 hoobastank.com". Archived from the original on April 15, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "For(n)ever by Hoobastank". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Fornever at AllMusic. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  5. 1 2 Dolan, Jon (January 27, 2009). "Hoobastank: For(N)ever". Blender. Alpha Media Group. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  6. 1 2 McLennan, Scott (January 26, 2009). "Hoobastank Rocks Steady - Album review". Boston Globe. Boston.com. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  7. 1 2 Bimm, Jordan (February 4–11, 2009). "Disc review Hoobastank For(N)ever". NOW. Vol. 28, no. 23. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Hoobastank on Universal Music Japan". Universal Music Japan. Retrieved 2012-07-16. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  9. ↑ "Chartifacts - Week Commencing 6 July 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association. Aria.com.au. July 6, 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-11-19.
  10. ↑ "Hoobastank Ranking Information" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
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