The Get Up Kids – There Are Rules

I missed the whole Get Up Kids phenomenon back in the early 00’s, and by the time they broke up it was all news to me.  Needless to say, news of their reunion and return to the studio fell on deaf ears, and I was far from the streets when the welcome wagon rolled back to town.  History treats them as a key influence along with Saves The Day and The Promise Ring in setting the rules for turn of the century emo.  Their fifth studio album overall, There Are Rules, serves as an introduction for myself to a band that defined a genre I was never terribly into.

My biggest shocker after contextualizing There Are Rules has been how unlike their original influences, or ever their past selves the Kansas quintet has become.  It’s nothing like the whiny, heart-on-your-sleeves emo I’d typically associate with Get Up Kids, nor resembling any of the folky elements of frontman Matt Pryor’s recent solo work.  “Post-emo” might be the best descriptor, and anyone holding the group to their past identification needs to rethink their newly outdated schema.

For starters, each song resists the carefree, poppy adolescent rebellion of their past flame.  It’s been seven years since Guilt Show dropped, and the band has matured.  Get Up Kids’ new norm rests with repetition, fuzzed out guitars, and plenty of attempted spontaneity.  The most immediate flags stand on tracks like “Rally ‘Round The Fool,” “Keith Case,” or “Shatter Your Lungs.”  These songs reduce the soundscape to a pulsating electronic rhythm section, penetrated by sharp, piercing synth notes.  Each case admirably attempts layering minimally, artistically slipping in welcome atmospheric extras.  Unfortunately the buildup often comes without payout, as the rising crescendo fades away with little trace of a finale – like a pleasant car ride to a store that has since closed it’s doors.

In between these thoughtful plodding segments the band revisits its hooky guitar with a host of catchy, fuzz-laced melodies that are easy on the way down, but do little to stick around after the fact.  The most memorable moments arise in crossover attempts “Regent’s Court” and “Automatic,” when respective comparisons to The Strokes and Hot Hot Heat take the band delightfully off course.  A combination of strong rhythmic rails and erratic convulsions should assist listeners in overcoming their tendency to judge by existing expectations.  The best of the more conventional adaptations, like “When it Dies,” achieve an ease of alternative-styled listening somewhere along the lines of White Lies meets Rural Alberta Advantage.

There Are Rules is best taken for what it is: a drastically different output by a band people had once pigeonholed firmly in the career-ending emo camp.  Considering that most former Get Up Kids followers will have aged with time, and assuming that time has matured their listening habits, There Are Rules should be easy for former fans to slip back in with – probably.  The experiment isn’t without its flaws (i.e. slow and repetitive moments), but as a newcomer I can certainly appreciate its ambitions.