a profile of the characters that I live with and the characters that I am." Musically, the album has been described as pop rock and synth-pop, consisting of vocal-and-piano-focused tracks with slow-to-mid tempo. It drew comparison to the Jack's Mannequin albums The Glass Passenger (2008) and People and Things (2011). A lot of McMahon's writing was influenced by the sound of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966), which he listened to over and over during the writing. With the release, McMahon retrospectively revisited his history of California and his fondness for the beach towns he grew up in. "Teenage Rockstars" sees McMahon mulling over his early career while he attended high school while part of Something Corporate, and had a similar tone to "All the Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople. He tried tackling the theme in a Jack's Mannequin song "Starting a Rock Band" but felt he lacked the perspective until now. "Ohio" was influenced by McMahon's early upbringing in Bexley, Ohio, and talks about revisiting the west coast. McMahon wrote "Blue Vacation" from a place of frustration with people "screaming into an echo chamber" and wanting to take a vacation from the news at the time. "Paper Rain" talks about spending life as a gamble. With "This Wild Ride", McMahon details his love for his grandmother, who died the same day he wrote it. "Goodnight, Rock and Roll" is a tribute to rock legends such as David Bowie and Tom Petty; "House in the Trees" sees McMahon outline his friendships and traveling. Release In April and May 2018, McMahon went on an acoustic tour, dubbed The Pen and the Piano Tour. The shows served as a mix between VH1 Storytellers and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood where McMahon would tell stories about the songs he's performing, as well his backing band's members who performed their own solo songs. During this trek, "Ohio" was released as a single on May 11; a lyric video was released two days later. Following this, he co-headlined the Spring Fling festival. On October 2, Upside Down Flowers was announced for release, and "Teenage Rockstars" was released as a single. In addition, a music video was released for the track on the same day, directed by Jade Ehlers. Though there is clips of McMahon singing the song throughout the video, it predominately consists of footage of McMahon with his former band Something Corporate. "Blue Vacation" premiered