When The Wonder Years announced that they had been signed to Hopeless Records and would be reissuing The Upsides with four extra tracks, all sorts of excitements and nerves began to run wild. It’s safe to say that everybody was and still is thrilled for the band’s rapid growth since their January release, but it’s easy to imagine that many feared that the band would tarnish the record of the year with new and different songs. Alas, fear not—the songs are kickass, so get stoked on it. Ironic? Yes. 

The so-called “deluxe” tracks begin with a new one, “I Was Scared And I’m Sorry.” Though the song is different from all of the previously released tracks on The Upsides, it certainly fits in with Soupy’s trademark lyrics and the band’s catchy pop-punk riffs. “I Was Scared” shines as Soupy sings, “She watches Breakfast At Tiffany’s // It calms her completely // I guess Sarah Marshall does the same for me,” in a manner that will surely be a fan favorite. 

The reworked “Campfire Version” of “Dynamite Shovel” provides the same fun as the original but in an acoustic setting with gang vocals throughout where The Wonder Years are truly enjoying what’s happening, which may not have been clear to fans before. 

“Logan Circle: A New Hope” is the reissue’s best, and perhaps one of The Wonder Years’s greatest full-band efforts as the newly added piano work of Nick Steinborn slows down the original fast-paced track and let’s Soupy’s vocals take the lead. Completely reworked from drums to lyrics, the band perfectly improved an already seamless song. They even pay homage to Fireworks as Soupy sings, “We’re getting pretzels // With Fireworks at midnight // And I don’t need maps // The sidewalk cracks this way.” 

The Upsides comes to a final close with “We Won’t Bury You,” a heartbreaking song written towards a rehabilitating friend. The slowest and most diverse song on the record is limited to just guitars, keys, and vocals as Soupy sings, “Let me know // If there’s something we can do // Because we won’t bury you.” The final words that their friend said to the band was when he asked them not to “bury him” as he went to rehab. They certainly paid homage to him well.

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