The Wonder Years - The Upsides (Review)

Artist: The Wonder Years
Album: The Upsides
Label: No Sleep Records
Release Date: January 26^th
Genre: Pop-punk
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Rating:

In the face of adver­sity, most peo­ple lament their fates and wal­low in their sor­row. Even in music, artists tend to com­plain about life’s tri­als and tribu­la­tions. While this may be the eas­i­est and some­times the most attrac­tive option, it is cer­tainly not the best way to live life. In The Upsides, The Wonder Years encour­age their audi­ence to shed this self-pity and fight back. With their amal­ga­ma­tion of pop-punk sen­si­bil­i­ties and lyri­cal sub­stance, The Wonder Years have cre­ated a record that sets the bar high for this year’s pop-punk releases.

While a pos­i­tive theme is cer­tainly not a new con­cept, the Wonder Years suc­cess­fully avoid the cliché by offer­ing a new per­spec­tive on hard­ship. From the album’s opener “My Last Semester” to the closer “All My Best Friends Are In Bar Bands”, the lyrics “I’m not sad any­more” are fre­quently recy­cled and serve as the record’s pri­mary theme. Rather than the pro­to­typ­i­cal “things will get bet­ter” bit, this theme spurs the audi­ence to take action. This claim is preva­lent in tracks such as “It’s Never Sunny In South Philadelphia” where front­man Soupy Campbell sings, “Most days are bad days but we can’t just wait for some­one to pull me off of the concrete.”

The lyrics prove to be one of the most redeem­ing qual­i­ties of the album. While lead singer Soupy is hardly a poet, he writes lyrics that are eas­ily relat­able. Poignant lyrics can be found in the songs like “This Party Sucks”. In this track, Campbell expresses his alien­ation from the super­fi­cial party scene. While many ado­les­cents and young adults aspire to be a part of this com­mu­nity, many of us do not need to attend these social gath­er­ings to be happy. With these lyrics and song top­ics, Campbell shows matu­rity beyond his age.

In fine pop-punk fash­ion, The Wonder Years are able com­bine their solid lyrics with acces­si­ble melodies. Standout tracks include “Logan Circle” and “Melrose Diner” because of their highly addic­tive cho­ruses and unfor­get­table gang vocals. In addi­tion to the qual­ity song­writ­ing, the musi­cian­ship present in the album is extremely impres­sive. Drummer (now ex-drummer) Mike Kennedy is always the dri­ving power of the band and exe­cutes great fills. Guitarists Casey Cavaliere and Matt Brasch keep songs inter­est­ing with solid riffs and bassist Josh Martin is always preva­lent in the mix.

While The Upsides is not a rein­ven­tion of the wheel, it is a solid album from top to bot­tom. With this release, The Wonder Years have shown great pro­gres­sion; they have matured past their Get Stoked On It days. With admirable inten­tions and unflap­pable per­se­ver­ance, The Wonder Years are a band who seemed poised to ascend to the top of the pop-punk scene. Congratulations The Wonder Years, 2010 appears to be your year boys.

Track Listing:
1. My Last Semester
2. Logan Circle
3. Everything I Own Fits In This Backpack
4. Dynamite Shovel
5. New Years With Carl Weathers
6. It’s Never Sunny In South Philadelphia
7. Hostels & Brothels
8. Melrose Diner
9. This Party Sucks
10. Hey Thanks
11. Washington Square Park
12. All My Friends Are In Bar Bands

Similar To: Fireworks, This Time Next Year, All Or Nothing

Review by: Jerry B.

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