THE UPSIDES Detail Second Album 'IN THE MAZE', Release New Synth-Driven Single

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Matt and Dan Fullam's band explores nostalgia and 9/11's impact on their community.

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New York City indie rock band The Upsides return with 'New Jersey in the 90s,' the fourth single from their upcoming second album, In The Maze , due October 16 via Dream Wolf Records. Mixed by Austin Asvanonda (Sam Fender, The War on Drugs) with additional production from Nick Perri, the wistful, nostalgic, synth-filled track looks back on childhood, memory and the loss of innocence through a deeply personal story rooted in the band's New Jersey upbringing.

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The Upsides, brothers Matt and Dan Fullam alongside longtime friends Hart Mechlin, Pat Freeman and Matt DaSilva , have spent years shaping their sound through friendship, collaboration and experimentation. With In The Maze , their first album for Dream Wolf Records, the band moves beyond their jangly garage-rock roots into bolder, more emotive territory.

Lyrically, 'New Jersey in the 90s' reflects on the early 2000s through the memories of Matt and Dan, particularly the family who lived next door and lost their father on 9/11. The family eventually moved away, but their absence and the tragedy surrounding it remained part of the brothers' understanding of their childhood.

Of the new single , Fullam explains: 'Even though we were super young, looking back now there was a shift that happened, a death to the innocence of our earlier childhood, which still always seems to have an amber glow to it. It's less a story about that event and that particular day, and more about how difficult it is to make sense of certain things in your past while acknowledging how profound of an impact they had on you.'

The song follows the hazy atmosphere of 'Pretending It Fades,' the album's third single , offering a reflective counterpoint to the heavier and brasher direction of the band's earlier releases from In The Maze . The track went through numerous iterations before reaching its final form, with the band even re-tracking the bass at the last minute while finishing the mix at The War on Drugs' One Cue Recording studio in Burbank, California. For Fullam, the decision felt fitting for what he calls the band's 'Drugs-iest song yet.'

The emotional landscape of 'New Jersey in the 90s' mirrors the larger themes of In The Maze : coming to terms with the past, reaching pivotal moments in life, and realizing that there are rarely simple answers. Much of the album came together during a ten-day songwriting retreat in Parksville, New York, just one month after the release of The Upsides' self-titled debut. Matt, Dan, and Hart spent the retreat experimenting with new sounds before the band eventually recorded at The Building, a converted rural church in Marlboro, New York.

For The Upsides, 'New Jersey in the 90s' is a personal tribute to the people and memories that shaped their childhood, and to the difficult process of reckoning with how 9/11 changed that world—and how its impact continues to be understood in adulthood.

Fullam continues, 'People have always talked about the amber years of a bygone era, and how everything used to be better in those days, but I really think that's just a mourning of the blissful days of your youth… and in the tri-state area, those of us who were born in the 90s just happened to have one day that served as a death of innocence to that youth.'

'New Jersey In The 90s' by The Upsides is out September 16th. In The Maze is out October 16th, 2026.

1. In The Maze

2. Very Bad Kids

3. Say Follow

4. Pretending it Fades

5. New Jersey In The 90s

6. Telepathic

7. Fast Angel

8. Twist Our Fate

9. Space Monkey

10. Limbo

11. Sepia

The Upsides are an indie rock band based in New York City consisting of brothers Matt (guitar and vocals) and Dan Fullam (drums) alongside longtime friends Hart Mechlin (lead guitar), Pat Freeman (keys, guitar) and Matt DaSilva (bass). Long-standing relationships, chance encounters and a transformative songwriting retreat have continued to shape and refine the group as they enter a new era with In the Maze , their second album and first on Dream Wolf Records.

More than half of In The Maze came together in June 2024, one month after the release of their self-titled debut album. Matt, Dan and Hart spent 10 days tucked away in Parksville, New York experimenting with new sounds and even swapping instruments. After a year of working on demos, The Upsides left their New York City base yet again and went upstate to record at The Building, a converted rural church in Marlboro, New York. The band all sensed they were heading into bolder, more emotive sonic territory than their jangly garage rock roots.

After post-production was complete in February 2026, In the Maze was mixed in Burbank, California by Austin Asvanonda (Sam Fender, The War on Drugs). The album was mastered by Steve Fallone, with additional production by Nick Perri (Silvertide, Luke Spiller) and string arrangements by Richard Jones and Laura Moody of Elysian Collective (Florence + The Machine, Fontaines D.C.).

The tracks on In The Maze are full of universal themes told through specific, lived-through stories; about coming to terms with the past, reaching a make-or-break point in life, and realizing there are no simple, easy answers.

Photo Credit: Alex Brown

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/THE-UPSIDES-Announce-IN-THE-MAZE-LP-Share-New-Single-20260916)._