There Are Rules [CD]

For some reason, every time The Get Up Kids release a new album, people are surprised that it doesn't sound like Something to Write Home About. Maybe that was understandable in 2002, back when On a Wire made the shift from energetic power pop to a more alternative sound, but now more than ten years on from the release of the band's seminal 90's album, there isn't really an excuse. Now five albums in, no two Get Up Kids records have sounded the same, while at the same time always sounding like a "Get Up Kids album."

So when I say that There Are Rules is likely the best thing the band has put out to this point, don't take that to mean that it's any kind of return to Something to Write Home About. I never imagined I'd be thankful for the band's dissolution in 2005, but clearly the three years apart working on vastly different musical projects (Spoon, The New Amsterdams, Blackpool Lights, Reggie and the Full Effect) has grown each of them as musicians. The result is a band that sounds like it's having fun again, in a way that hasn't come through this loudly since Four Minute Mile. It's wildly experimental at times, but it never stops being a Get Up Kids album.

In all reality, the Get Up Kids are the best of the "high school bands," because they're the one that grows with you. It's depressing to see bands like the Ataris making a desperate return to their old sound after fans rejected the wildly different (but promising) "Welcome the Night." Nobody wants to see guys in their late-30's trying desperately to sound like they did in their early twenties so kids in high school will like them again.

Thankfully, there's nothing desperate about "There Are Rules." If anything, it's openly defiant. The album closer, "Rememorable," reads as pre-written response to their detractors, ending with a simple decree: "You've got it all so wrong/Why don't you go away?"

The Get Up Kids have been one of my favorite bands of the past ten years and I was very excited to hear they had re-united after not putting out an album since 2004. While each of their previous albums is different and unique in its own way, they still all maintain a certain cohesive sound that has a similarity and made their sound recognizable. While all being different, I greatly enjoyed each of them.....and I must add that On A Wire did take some getting used to, but it did become one of my favs.

Fast forward 7 years to There Are Rules. The only recognizable aspect on this album is Matt Pryor's distinct voice. Other than that all other signs of the Get Up Kids are absent. The music itself is almost all electronic sounding. Even the vocals feature a muffled, somewhat distorted aspect. Gone are any catchy hooks, guitar riffs, or anything resembling a classic TGUK ballad such as I'll Catch You. I want to like this album so bad that I keep playing it and playing it but I can't listen for more than a few minutes without having to pop in one of their older releases. I tried dozens of times but this album just doesn't do it for me. It sounds like a 90's Industrial album and really doesn't feature any rock or emo stylings.

I bet alot of people will love this album and enjoy the new direction the band is taking. Thats fine by me. I can see how you could like this, but its just not for me. I'm all for bands trying new things but this is too far out there for my liking. I don't need them to recreate a previous work to like it but I would have enjoyed at least something with a more rock/pop feel to it. Comparing this album to Something To Write Home About, is like comparing apples to hamburgers.

If you are all about getting into a new (electronic) sound, then go for it and check this out. If you want to hear the get up kids from last decade, your best bet is to pop in your old cd.

The Get Up Kids are back, and apparently they are ready to get on with their musical lives. There are Rules is definitely a new sound for them, with some 80s pop and electronic elements thrown in. At times reminiscent of Radiohead, at times reminiscent of the Strokes, it is nonetheless a sound all their own, and it's a good one at that. The album opener "Tithe" is the perfect song to start this one off. It hits you hard, and hits you fast, while at the same time giving that darker, more non-melodic sound that is found throughout the album.

The Good:
It's new, it's fresh - Easily their most mature album (they are older after all), this album feels like the Get Up Kids growing up with their audience. It's darker, more bass-heavy, and has more interesting guitar work than any of their previous albums. They have proved throughout their career that they aren't willing to re-hash old stuff, and this is definitely like nothing they've ever done before.

It's still a Get Up Kids Album - Though it is most certainly a new sound, you can still tell it's a TGUK album. Musically, it seems drastically different, but there is something so familiar about Matt Pryor's unpretentious vocals that he could probably take anything and make it a Get Up Kids song. The guys continue to prove that they are excellent songwriters, and they bring a lot of energy to this album that seemed just a little bit missing in The Guilt Show.

Jim Suptic sings 2 songs - This is something I was excited about. Though Pryor is the better singer, Suptic voice has a great "rough around the edges" quality that helps break up the album. His 2 songs are probably the most experimental on the album, but definitely fit in with the theme and I am more than happy to see him singing.

It gives me hope for the Get Up Kids future - I liked the Guilt Show. I liked it a lot. But I felt that it was sort of a return to form, trying to re-capture Something to Write Home About. I feel like it should have been the CD between STWHA and On a Wire. But when they broke up, I kind of thought, "that's a good one to go out on." There are Rules is such an interesting, unexpected step to take, that I now can't wait to see what they will do next. Well done, boys!

The Bad:
A few songs seem undeveloped - Song 2 "Regent's Court" and song 12 "Rememorable" are the closest thing to previous Get Up Kids songs on this album (and they are great). But both clock in at under 3 minutes, and seem to end out of nowhere when you are really starting to get into them. Maybe this was intentional, but it's a minor negative. Also the song "Better Lie" starts out very dark sounding with some drum work that leads you to believe it's about to go even darker and harder, but it just kind of meanders about with no direction afterwards. The 2 best developed songs on the album (start slow, build to amazing crescendos) are #8 (Keith Case) and #9 (The Widow Paris).

Ultimately, this album is both great upon initial listens (maybe the 2nd or 3rd time through), and deep enough to explore for a while. This one will make a consistent rotation for me over the next couple of years I'm sure, seeing as how I still listen to all of their stuff, and it really leaves me wondering what they might do next. Buy it! Now!