The Wonder Years pushed into the mainstream charts in the early 2010s through an energetic blend of pop punk, emo, and sincere alt-rock, propelled by releases such as Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing and The Greatest Generation. Formed in Lansdale, a Philadelphia suburb, the band kept refining its approach by weaving in indie, post-hardcore, and straightforward melodic rock on subsequent efforts including 2015's No Closer to Heaven and 2018's Sister Cities. Following a four-year hiatus, the Wonder Years resurfaced in 2022 via their seventh LP, The Hum Goes on Forever.
The group took its name from the late-'80s television series and was founded by guitarists Matt Brasch and Casey Cavaliere, vocalist Dan "Soupy" Campbell, bassist Josh Martin, drummer Mike Kennedy, and keyboardist Mikey Kelly. The six musicians launched in 2005 after the earlier project the Premier disbanded. Operating under the new moniker, they played live shows and issued two split singles that year, one with Bangarang! and another with Emergency and I. In late 2007 the Wonder Years put out their self-released debut album, the boldly titled Get Stoked on It!, which drew attention from the California label No Sleep. Their initial release for that imprint was the EP Won't Be Pathetic Forever, which appeared in June 2008. After a split single with All or Nothing, Kelly departed. Once a year of recording their next album concluded, the Wonder Years issued The Upsides in January 2010. That album registered on the lower reaches of Billboard's indie chart and secured the band a contract with the larger indie Hopeless, which reissued the record in September with four bonus tracks added.
During the gap between releases, drummer Kennedy exited and was succeeded by Nick Steinborn. Once Kennedy rejoined, Steinborn shifted to keys and guitar. With the roster now stable, the Wonder Years entered the studio alongside producer Steve Evetts. The outcome, 2011's Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing, became the band's first entry on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 73. A 2013 rarities compilation, Sleeping on Trash, gathered material from the band's opening five years and was followed months later by the fourth full-length, The Greatest Generation. Marking both an artistic and commercial leap, the album propelled the Wonder Years into the Top 20 while surpassing sales of all prior releases. Campbell extended the momentum with the debut outing from his solo endeavor Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties.
Once Campbell finished touring behind the Roaring Twenties, he started composing for the next Wonder Years album yet encountered intense writer's block that sparked a serious depressive episode. He ultimately redirected the feelings arising from those difficulties into the band's fifth studio album, 2015's No Closer to Heaven, a concept record exploring acceptance of a loved one's death. The Wonder Years' following output, the 2017 Burst & Decay EP, presented acoustic renditions of tracks from their prior three LPs. Later that year the group returned to the studio with producers Joe Chiccarelli and Carlos de la Garza to track their sixth LP. Sister Cities emerged in 2018 and reflected a move away from pop-punk origins. A live EP recorded at England's Maida Vale Studios surfaced in April 2019. The Wonder Years stayed largely inactive for several years until they broke the silence in early 2022 with the energetic single "Oldest Daughter." That track anchored the band's seventh studio album, The Hum Goes on Forever, which appeared that September.
