On May 14, 2013, Philadelphia’s The Wonder Years released The Greatest Generation, the final record in its realist pop-punk trilogy which started back in January 2010.

The band, comprised of vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell, bassist Josh Martin, drummer Mike Kennedy and guitarists Casey Cavaliere, Matt Brasch and Nick Steinborn, released a goofy record called Get Stoked On It! back in 2007, but it went largely unnoticed and most of its songs aren’t even performed in live sets anymore.

That’s because the band decided to get serious with its second release, 2010’s The Upsides. The record kick-started the group’s trilogy and became essential listening for pop-punk fans through its “I’m not sad anymore, I’m just tired of this place” refrain.

“That record is about being 18-20 and trying to figure yourself out now that you’re legally an adult,” Martin says. “It was kind of like a last chance record for us, we worked super hard on it, we did everything we could. If that was the last thing people were going to hear from us we wanted it to be meaningful.”

In the end, everything worked out. The band was picked up by Los Angeles-based Hopeless Records and released another full-length called Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing in June 2011.

“That next record was based off being on tour for so long and returning back to our hometown,” recalls Martin. “Just realizing that everything changed so much because the Earth kept turning and people kept growing while we were away.”

The Greatest Generation carries a similar theme but the band took its time and has tried to break some new ground. Album closer I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral clocks in at over seven minutes, making it the longest Wonder Years song by far.

“This one’s more about being at the age where people you went to high school with are getting married, buying houses and having kids while we’re still traveling around in a van playing music, basically living this totally different lifestyle,” the bassist says. “Still, it was a challenge for us to make sure this record came out the way we envisioned it in the end.”

While the trilogy is technically over, the band shows no signs of slowing down. It’ll play the main stage on the Vans Warped Tour (which, believe it or not, turns 18) this summer.

Before it starts playing outdoor venues and parking lots, the band will be opening up shows across Western Canada for Hopeless Records’ label-mates Silverstein.

After releasing an acoustic cover of The Weakerthans’ “Aside” and hitting the road with Comeback Kid, the band will be at the Pyramid Cabaret on June 8, finally performing in the city those two bands hail from.

“We’ve definitely neglected Western Canada during our entire band life so we’re excited to come up there. Plus touring Canada in the summer seems like a way better idea than playing Canada in the winter.”

Published in Volume 67, Number 26 of The Uniter (May 29, 2013)