THE WONDER YEARS • The Upsides • LP

Hopeless Records

The second album from Philly pop punk band The Wonder Years. In this release, there's no shortage of uplifting and inspiring lyrics to make you fight back.
The Upsides is the second studio album by American rock band the Wonder Years, released through No Sleep Records and Run For Cover Records on January 26, 2010.

The album was recorded with producer Vince Ratti at Skylight Studios in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. After being signed by Hopeless Records, The Upsides was later reissued in various vinyl colours of which this clear blue one is the latest.

Allmusic said the "bleeding humanity" of the band and how Campbell "sounds like a regular guy, not a rock & roll frontman" help The Upsides bring "a time-honored sound" and "make it sound fresh and exciting by doing it seriously right". Reviewer Tim Sendra complimented the dueling riffs of guitarists Matt Brasch and Casey Cavaliere, Mike Kennedy's drum work and how Nick Steinborn adds the occasional unobtrusive keyboard part: "They simply take the best of each element of their conglomerated sound (the hookiness of pop, the heart-spilling fever of emo, the rambling energy of punk) and let it rip."