One of the more gratifying parts of doing Pastepunk for so long is watching bands basically made up of kids mature into young adults, and actually make something of the incredible opportunities they have been afforded. THE WONDER YEARS have been under a bit of a microscope since their 2007 full-length, Get Stoked On It, which bristled with relentless pop-punk energy, but faulted under the iffy foundation of silly (not clever) lyrics and an overall sense of apathy to being taken seriously. A shift was put into place with the band’s enjoyable split EP with UK band ALL OR NOTHING, and right from the start, No Sleep Records was hailing The Upsides, as the mood and perspective shift that some of us wished that the band had in them.

THE WONDER YEARS are mostly there. The effort is great, the musical results are quite good. At a minimum, The Upsides is a beautifully recorded (pure) pop-punk album that carves out the keyboard fat that marred earlier releases, and features lead vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell become a strong force in front of the churning guitars and double-time drumming. Campbell’s ascension as a lyricist is also one of the major improvements on The Upsides. “Silly” transforms into observational humor, with some of the best material centered around the band’s ‘life in a suitcase’ road-warrior mentality. Instead of falling into the rut that hardcore bands have plowed, that glorifies the personal and family sacrifices being made to ‘live the dream’ on the road, Campbell speaks of the simple, understated warmth that comes from meeting new people, new faces, and new connections, in cities far flung.  All of this fits into Campbell’s outspoken mantra that he’s “not sad anymore,” and is more comfortable in his own skin. As an eternal optimist, I’m on board with the change.

The big reason why I’ve pulled back on my praise for The Upsides is that some of these songs ache for huge, commanding choruses, and they just never rise to their potential. Pit The Upsides against anything in NEW FOUND GLORY’s trilogy of Self-Titled, Sticks & Stones, and Catalyst, and you’ll understand what I mean. Also – only one short, ultra-fast, melodic punk/hardcore blast? I simply love the charging buffalo stomp of the 65 second “Dynamite Shovel,” and another jolt in the same manner would have been welcome. This leads into another point – The Upsides features just three songs under 3:20 — a few of the faster songs get cut up into a blur of slow-shifting tempo changes and tempered sing-along verses (see “Hostels & Brothels”) that play games with the flow of one song into the next. There’s also the questionable acoustic song “Hey Thanks,” which goes plus/minus — the guest vocals by Rachel Minton are a nice thing to have; but the band doesn’t sound any more convincing or heartfelt in the acoustic form (and they certainly are not lacking in this element anymore). The horns that chime in at the end bring to mind some of NOFX’s filler tracks, and I’m not so sure that’s territory that these guys want to be associated with.

THE WONDER YEARS have made great strides with The Upsides, and I’ve enjoyed blasting this one loud in the time I’ve spent with it. But I hope that the group doesn’t consider its work to be done, and I wish for them to get a lot of mileage out of this release, because I think they get it. I think they appreciate their talents and that they absorb their life experiences in ways that eluded them before, and that kind of thing is what makes a good band grow into a great band.

No Sleep