You could take one look at The Wonder Years, or one (brief) listen and decide “no, they’re just every other pop-punk band around right now.” You could be right, after all, the so called pop-punk scene is becoming very over saturated. But it’s a different breed now, it’s all chug-chug-this and gang vocal-that and it can be a tad overwhelming. Pop-punk should be about keeping it real, having a good time, writing about it with music to jump to. Allow me to offer you a second look at The Wonder Years.

As I’ve already said, you could take one look at The Wonder Years. But if you did, then you’d deprive yourself of something a bit different. It’s too easy to judge a book by its cover and write off a good band after only 20 seconds. Believe it or not the band are coming up to five years this summer, not heard of them yet? Then start listening. They’ve been incredibly prolific in their time. Most bands take this long to even get noticed and start to record an album. This is number two, along with a host of EP and split releases under their belts. The Wonder Years really are making the most of it.

"The Upsides" exhibits everything that should make these guys at least moderately popular. They’re not jumping on the same pop-punk bandwagons and clichés that bands seem to be going out of their way to include in their music these days. They’ve crafted their own niche over the past five years, they’ve become trend setters rather than just another pop-punk band. That trend may be a little shy of the mainstream, but it’s there and a lot of bands are following the example set by The Wonder Years. It’s vocally fragile in delivery, but that’s an odd thing in itself as vocalist Dan Campbell manages to power through his vocal delivery, and it probably comes closer to whiny. That’s not how I view it, but it’s the type of delivery which could get labelled and branded that way.

Enough talk up, but why am I talking them up so much? Well, minus the vocals which will grate on probably 5% of the people who are still ready by now, the musicianship is top notch. They don’t do anything particularly complicated or especially new, but they do it well and have mastered the craft. But it’s not all full on, non-stop action. Add to that, this record has been written in a very interesting way, it’s not just a collection of songs written around the same time. It’s a collection of songs designed to be listened to together, and not just one after the other, but listen and share it with friends. The Wonder Years are spreading the love with "The Upsides" and you should too, just to do it some justice.

Opener ‘My Last Semester’ briefly dethrones any pre-existing conceptions about this band, but only briefly. The fragile opening “I’m not sad anymore, I’m just tired of this place...” soon erupts to the point and becomes a medley of gratuitous sing-along, uplifting, harmony rich vocals, layered on top of a furious drum beat and true pop-punk guitar work, welcome home. There’s not a major diversity, variety or anything else, if you want that you’re looking the wrong place. But, and it’s an important but - it does have a lot of heart, a lot of soul and is very upfront and honest. The Wonder Years are giving it to you straight, so listen up. The similarities between songs are mainly the feel and character, which adds to, rather than detracts from the overall quality of the album.

It does get difficult to pick out stand out tracks, it sounds tacky, but they’re all good and they all have their place. ‘New Years with Carl Weathers’ is a notable exception, as it bursts into life and makes the previous track feel subdued by comparison. It’s not all high tempo testosterone fuelled pop-punk, there is a subtler side to The Wonder Years. In ‘Hey Thanks,’ Campbell’s vocals are joined and beautiful harmonised by Zolof The Rock and Roll Destroyer’s Rachel Minton. The track starts out with what sounds like a ukulele (although it’s not in the credits anywhere, so I’m likely wrong) and soon moves onto a crescendo with what I can only describe as a ‘London Calling’ feel to the strumming pattern. The harmonies go into overdrive and it leaves a warm fuzzy feeling when it’s over. Perhaps there’s more to pop-punk after all, I hear you mutter?

Well, normal service resumes as ‘Washington Square Park’ and vocally packed finale ‘All My Friends are in Bar Bands’ see out the album. The latter starts off with another unfamiliar instrument on a pop-punk record, the acoustic guitar. It’s a nice touch and builds a nice bit of dynamic. Respect to the band here as well, it’s not there for the sake of it, it’s not the token slow acoustic track, it builds the momentum until this song becomes huge and several vocals take a turn at the “I’m not sad anymore, I’m just tired of this place...” line which opened the album. It completes the circle and by doing so begs you to take another listen to add some perspective. It’s that little touch which gives this record more of a feel of continuity rather than twelve songs randomly fused together because they were written within a few months specifically for a record.

This record feels important and it feels like The Wonder Years have put a lot of effort in to make the ends meet and tell a story worth listening to. It almost feels like a diary at times, but it works surprisingly well. What the album lacks in diversity it makes up for in spirit, it’s a great effort and one which should solidify The Wonder Years in hearts and minds. One slightly personal note, I began listening to this album at the start of this review in a less than brilliant mood. Now after three listens and reviewing it, I’m smiling profusely.

Thankfully, uplifting, feel-good music is one pop-punk “cliché” The Wonder Years have by the bucket load, and long may it continue.