"As fucked as this place got, it made me me."

The Trilogy About Growing Up, Part II. The Wonder Years third LP 'Suburbia: I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing' is a record about the town you grew up and no matter how much you hated it or even if you loved it, it helped make you who you are today, as the lyric I started the article off with expresses. Most of us grew up hating our town, I know I sure did. I'll talk to my mom about my hometown now with nostalgia and she'll remind me how much I always complained about Waynesburg and how I would so lovingly refer to it as "the armpit of the world." Yeah, I don't really know either. This record culminates stories from the bands lives growing up as friends in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, and everything they experienced in that time of growing up.

'Suburbia' also follows a bit of a theme. Dan, the lead singer, also is a lover of poetry. While you listen to the record and follow along with the lyrics, you'll be able to notice similarities and references to Allen Ginsberg's 1956 poem, 'America.' Fun Fact: The voice you hear on the opening track, 'Came Out Swinging' is Ginsberg himself saying, "My mind is made up, there's going to be trouble." Give the poem a read through or listen to Ginsberg himself recite the poem on Youtube. You won't be disappointed.

The record starts off, in my opinion, right where 'The Upsides,' left off. Winter is over, light greens of Spring gathering hope of warmer days and better outlooks. 'Came Out Swinging' rips into the thought of Dan moving his stuff into his parent's basement after a breakup with his girlfriend. The song goes on to talk about how all the traveling they are doing as a band has kept them away from home longer than any of them had endured previously leaving Soupy to sing, "I spent this year as a ghost and I'm not sure where home is anymore." The album progresses as Soupy sings about different parts of town he avoids to not see his exes face ('Woke Up Older') or how the local bowling alley burnt down and how the entire town just feels dead ('Suburbia').

'My Life As A Pigeon' embodies the life of being in a band that is picking up considerable traction, dealing with what comes with growing as a band and the fans that don't ever want the sound to change, coupled with the anxieties that come from the stark realization of growing up and being able to know that you're human, you're gonna mistakes and that you're willing to work through them, with a person to get better. Soupy sings about summers in suburban Pennsylvania with his best friends and the shit they got in to. One of the last verses ends with the lyric, "Screaming we're sick of running away/we'll stay, we'll stay, we'll stay." Which circles back to the sentiment that your hometown is what helped make you, you and that staying in the town isn't always a bad thing or a death sentence on your life.

The topic of religion is touched upon in this record and because that's a whole different issue on it's own, I'll sum up that song with, "If we're all just Christians or lions/I think I'd rather be on the side with sharper teeth/I don't need saving."

'Suburbia' gives it's second half of the record to the small town diner's where we go to eat at late at night, the homeless men that we see on a daily basis that never can seem to catch a break. There are references to certain spots in their Philly suburb that they would go to as their spot and how it was always a getaway in their town. How the death of a beloved best friend shook them to their core, how that in the end, no matter what happens or who you're with. "As fucked as this place got, it made me me." Every late night with friends in shitty diners, drives to the other side of town or up the interstate to get away, the people you met and carried with you while growing up, the places you dealt with and conquered or succumbed to your anxieties, it all made you, you. That part of you is something you can't erase, you can't forget or get rid of. That part of you is what sticks with you and even may help define who you are as a person.

Full disclosure, 'Suburbia' is likely my favorite record I've ever listened to hands down. It's a record that I never get tired of. A record that I feel like I connect with in so many levels. A record that is just a really good record from start to finish. I implore all of you to take the time out of your day today and listen to this record, you'll thank me later.

This record is the next step in The Trilogy About Growing Up. 'Upsides' was a record about not being sad anymore and getting stable ground to walk on. 'Suburbia' is the record that says not only "As fucked as this place got, it made me me" but "But I've been spending most of my nights here alone/and that doesn't scare me like it did a year ago." In this record, we are growing up and getting better, realizing that being home isn't the Hell we thought it once was and that maybe home is the place we need to heal and get right back on track because...