In the Maze
The Upsides | 2026
In The Maze is the second studio album from New York indie rock band The Upsides, and their first release with Dream Wolf Records.
Following their self-titled debut in 2024, the five-piece return with a record that pushes their sound further than ever before. Drawing on the alternative rock and grunge of the '90s, alongside their established love of melodic guitar music, the band have created something louder, more expansive and more emotionally ambitious.
The album began taking shape in June 2024, when Matt Fullam, Dan Fullam and Hart Mechlin spent ten days writing together in Parksville, New York. Those early sessions established the direction for a record that would eventually involve all five members in an extensive process of writing, recording and refining.
Recorded at The Building, a converted church in Marlboro, New York, and developed further at Pat Freeman's Brooklyn studio, the album was mixed by Austin Asvanonda, with additional production from Nick Perri and orchestral contributions from the Elysian String Collective.
Across eleven tracks, In The Maze explores the uncertainty of adulthood, the passage of time, relationships, ambition and the often uncomfortable experience of change. Written against a backdrop of significant personal events in the band members' lives, the songs draw heavily on real experiences, balancing moments of frustration and vulnerability with a determination to keep moving forward.
The explosive guitars and driving rhythms of "Very Bad Kids" and "Say Follow" reveal a heavier, more confrontational side of the band. "Pretending It Fades" moves into more atmospheric territory, with sweeping strings accompanying a deeply personal reflection on the lasting effects of a relationship. Meanwhile, "New Jersey In The 90s" revisits childhood memories and the complicated relationship between nostalgia, loss and growing older.
The title track brings these ideas together, confronting the disorientation of unexpected change, while the album's closing song, "Sepia," offers a quieter moment of perspective. Throughout the record, The Upsides move between urgency and restraint, pairing powerful guitar arrangements with increasingly intricate production and some of their most personal songwriting to date.
At its heart, In The Maze is also a record about friendship. Despite the changes taking place in their individual lives, the band have continued to find purpose and stability in making music together. That shared history, and their willingness to challenge one another creatively, has become central to the album's identity.
In an extensive interview with Atwood Magazine, the band described the record in three words: "Bold, layered, honest."
The album has already received significant praise, with Atwood Magazine's Mitch Mosk describing its eleven songs as "fiercely dynamic, relentlessly engaging, and downright irresistible."
In The Maze represents a new chapter for The Upsides and the beginning of their partnership with Dream Wolf Records. It's an album shaped by two years of creative ambition, personal experience and a shared determination to make something that reflects who they are today.
Released October 16, 2026, via Dream Wolf Records.