This one’s for the northern hemisphere summer enjoyers (or the southern hemisphere winter dreamers).

As the heat indices soar like fireworks into the night, I require a few things if I’m going to exist outside: water, wind, and wiggly air – AKA music. Though, if your local forecast is anything like mine, with predicted temps approaching 100°F for multiple days in a row, the focus is shifting more towards the sweet relief those summer nights provide, surrounded by friends in front of a campfire trying the newest s’mores idea one of them found on their social media feed. If you’ve been looking to refresh that summertime playlist with something familiar yet fresh and engaging, then you’ve stumbled into the perfect addition with the self-titled debut album from NYC indie rock band The Upsides.

Brothers Matt and Dan Fullam, joined by longtime friends Matt DaSilva and Hart Mechlin, have concocted a winning formula by combining their personal influences into one collectively cohesive sound. Diehard fans of The Strokes wondering what else to listen to during yet another absence of new music should pay attention, as well as any other enjoyers of garage rock, jangle pop, and surf-tinged melodies. What the band has cooked up here would pair aptly with any other chart-topping popular rock band, which is a true testament to this group’s unity. I suppose this should come as no surprise, as a direct quote from Mechlin reads, “We built most of these songs together, starting from an idea or a framework rather than a finished product from one of us.” This is the definition of easier said than done, though, and should not be overlooked. The efficacy with which this group has conjointly put pen to paper to write ten tracks that sound as well-rounded as they do is downright impressive.

If I had to choose one major strength to define The Upsides, it would be their ability to find a simple yet effective melodic hook. Take track #2, ‘A Word of Advice.’ The hook gets teased by the guitar right at the start, but doesn’t get fully fleshed out until the chorus, cementing it into your head well after playback is over. The track as a whole reminds me of ‘By the Way’-era Red Hot Chili Peppers, taking the tastefulness of Frusciante and blending it with an attentive rhythm section focused on locking in with each other and dutifully carrying each song to its proper destination. Thankfully, the vocals couldn’t be further from Kiedis, tunefully crooning out each song’s stories with skillful prose. They also provide my favorite melody on this release as featured in ‘Better Over There,’ a song seemingly about a “grass is greener” situation with the author wishing for a relationship to work out yet wondering if things are really “better over there.” That phrase serves as the foundation for a monster melodic hook that I’ve caught myself humming and singing at various times unprompted – a good sign as any that you’ve made a killer line.

Since I don’t have to choose only one major strength, let me point out another: the guitar solos. While the era of verbose shred fests and self-gratification has thankfully expired, a perhaps unintended overcorrection was the near-extinction of an appropriate guitar solo. Throughout the album, six-string lovers will rejoice at the guitar work showcased, especially on tracks with solos. A shining example is on one of the lead singles, ‘We Need More Data,’ a sub-three-minute rocker of all killer, no filler that wastes no time introducing a blazing lead guitar lick, the band behind it cautious and careful to let it do its thing. Just when the vocals step out front to provide the clearest message, the guitar knocks everything and everyone back with an anthemic ripper that never feels bloated or self-serving. Surely a huge part of its potency, aside from the player’s practiced prowess, is its singability – it’s not a competition, but an invitation to participate.

On that note, one final strength that deserves highlighting: this must be a great live band. During the studio listening experience, the guitars are panned in proper stereo, much like you’d experience in person. This was absolutely intentional, as Dan Fullam notes, “The songs have also all really translated well live, which is something we kept in mind as we wrote and recorded the album.” By keeping things faithful to what you would see if the four folks were in front of you, the experience is humbly genuine while still being instantly catchy without extraneous glitz or pompous pizazz. Maybe once you’re done toiling under the sun’s rays, you’ll be able to plan a night where you get to beat the heat by seeing this group put on a show. Until then, go outside and enjoy the sunshine while we have it, and make sure you add The Upsides to that ever-expanding ideal summer playlist.

The following interview is conducted with frontman Matt Fullam.

“Only genuine, authentic art will stand the test of time”

How long have you folks been performing and writing together as a unit?

Matt Fullam: My brother Dan and I have been playing together ever since he received a drum set for Christmas in fourth grade. Matt DaSilva, our bassist, has been in a bunch of iterations of bands we’ve had over the years as well. We’ve certainly made some noise in our family basements, playing covers and gradually improving! But The Upsides really came together over the COVID lockdown as we buckled down on songwriting and on where we wanted our sound to go. Hart and Dan knew each other from college up in Vermont and bumped into each other on the street in New York after graduation. If that chance encounter hadn’t happened, it’s very likely The Upsides wouldn’t exist.

Tell us more about The Upsides, what that name means to you and to your music.

The band name was born out of some dark, strange times during 2021. As a way to combat this negative energy, we started writing more up-tempo, catchy tunes, which honestly felt authentic and cathartic at the time. You can definitely hear that positive energy on our first EPs. When we got together to write our first full-length LP, we didn’t want to keep replicating that same sound. And I’d say even by the third EP we put out in 2022, you can tell we’re not solely trying to write sunny surf rock – although we love that stuff. We really respect the bands that constantly evolve their sound, and that is perhaps our first priority as a group. While this first album definitely has some up-tempo moments, the back half of the record reveals a darker, perhaps more mature and wistful sound. We are pleased with how connected yet non-repetitive these tunes came out, and we attribute most of that to a very collaborative songwriting process. We always battle with how cohesive a project should sound versus how much it should reflect our ever-changing and dynamic tastes.

I love how you folks write music together, as what we get in the end is incredibly cohesive. What can you reveal to us about your collaborative songwriting process?

Everyone in the band definitely has a voice on how the songs are written. The guitarists (kindly) critique the drummer and vocalist, and vice versa. If ever there are too many cooks in the kitchen, we just stick to “the best idea wins.” While that might sound like an elementary school motto, we stole that concept from an old Queens of the Stone Age interview, and it seems to be working for them. There is definitely some healthy tension at times, but we all know that the end result is always going to be much stronger than if this was a one-person show. This album was written together in the same room, and we are going to stick to that approach for as long as we possibly can.

What’s one piece of advice you can give for other creatives out there?

Don’t waste time or energy chasing overnight success. Only genuine, authentic art will stand the test of time and more importantly be something you are proud of. Listeners aren’t dumb and can tell when an artist is truly being themselves. And enjoy every second of the creative process, in particular collaborative creative processes, because unfortunately those are not going to last forever. And wherever possible, work on art with other people who you trust.

What’s next for you musically? Where can people see and/or hear you?

We are playing at Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, September 7th with B. Miles and Gooseberry. This is our favorite venue in our home city, NYC! We are also planning on playing a few East Coast dates this fall, so stay tuned on our socials!

We just spent a week in upstate NY working on new material for our second album. It was an incredible experience and was beyond our expectations. We had some fear we would be sick of each other after seven consecutive days in the woods, but it turned out none of us wanted to leave and our creative engines were at full speed by the end of the trip. We’re getting right back to work on the demo process and hope to have a second album in short order.

Any closing musings?

Just thank you to everyone who has reached out to us from listening to the new album! It really means the world that this music is reaching new people and impacting them in a positive way. Feel free to keep reaching out, and come check us out on tour later this year. And go support your favorite artists on tour whenever you can!

Headline photo: Alex Brown

The Upsides Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube