Soupy Campbell is completely open when it comes down to admitting that even though The Upsides chanted battle cries of “I’m not sad anymore” and other positive lyrics, he was anything but happy when the record was released. The band had evolved from five members being in college to six members being on the road full time for over a year, and Suburbia is a record that very much captures the time between the release of The Upsides and the present.

The striking difference on the record that can be heard within the first few seconds of “Came Out Swinging” is the overall production upgrade from Upsides to Suburbia, and it is certainly a welcome change. The new style is particularly noticeable as the bridge on “Came Out Swinging” is only a preview of the explosiveness that lasts throughout the entire record as Soupy sings, “I came out swinging from a South Philly basement // Caked in stale beer and sweat under half-lit fluorescents // I spent the winter writing songs about getting better // And if I’m being honest // I’m getting there.”

Both “Woke Up Older” and “Local Man Ruins Everything” are not only littered with references to The Upsides but also serve as the best one-two punch on the record. The former perfectly displays the addition of Nick Steinborn on guitar and keyboard, highlighting his power to improve the band’s sound both on this record and in the future. The latter of the two songs is the most raw track on the record and will be a crowd favorite with lines like, “I’m not a self-help book // I’m just a fucked up kid” and “I don’t have roses in the closet but I’ve got pictures in a drawer // And it’s everything left in me not to stare at them anymore.”

“Suburbia,” “I’ve Given You All,” and “And Now I’m Nothing” function as a three-for movement placed in different spots throughout the album that serve as the “setting” to the whole piece that both asks and answers the question of where “home” truly was for the band when the record was written. The tracks act outside of the general timeline the record was written in but help string together the obvious concept record that Suburbia is. The three songs also function as interludes that show off a different musical side of the band that fans have yet to hear before.

The first third of Suburbia is impressive in its own right, but the record kicks into overdrive as tracks like “My Life As A Pigeon” and “I Won’t Say The Lord’s Prayer” display some of the band’s best writing to date. “Lord’s Prayer” in particular may be one of the best songs on the record, portraying a more mature side of the band in terms of both musical and lyrical content with a negative view towards certain aspects of Christendom.

The remaining songs leading up to Suburbia’s end continue to crescendo with phenomenal drum parts from Michael Kennedy and layered guitars from Matthew Brasch, Casey Cavaliere, and Steinborn that solidify the band’s improvement in just over a year. “Hoodie Weather” and “And Now I’m Nothing” close out the album as the best two songs on the record as Soupy sings, “Growing up means // Watching my heroes turn human in front of me” on “Hoodie Weather.” “And Now I’m Nothing” is undoubtedly the most impressive and thought-out track the band has ever written beginning with the final heart-felt lyrics from Soupy and ending with a surprising, but fitting, long musical outro.

The Upsides was a rare record; it opened The Wonder Years up to a whole new world and brought their new fans a sort of hope that shaped 2010’s pop-punk scene. Just like New Found Glory’s self-titled record or Brand New’s Your Favorite Weapon, The Upsides seemed unbeatable to most, but like Sticks And Stones and Deja Entendu, The Wonder Years’s third record, Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing, will prove most fans wrong.

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