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.

I agree that the sound has changed, and I was hoping to hear a more traditional sound, but considering I had heard "Regent's Court," "Shatter Your Lungs," "Automatic," and "Kieth Case" before the album came out, I was used to some of the weirdness. I'm still getting used to it. And anyone who had purchased their Simple Science EP last year, this album, while still being somewhat surprising, shouldn't be so much of a sucker-punch.
I will say that the traditional sound is still there, just never in one piece. For example, "Shatter Your Lungs" has very traditional Get Up Kids vocals and drumming, but that's it. The rest of the song seems out of nowhere. I'm starting to really like it though. The last track, "Rememorable" seems to carry the same Get Up Kids guitar style and on occasion, reminds me of their earlier work, but other than that, it sounds quite different. I'd say the same for "Pararelevent." "Regent's Court" is perhaps the closest to a traditional sound, but we're not talking "I'm a Loner Dottie, A Rebel," so much as "Wouldn't Believe It." The only song I'm not digging and can't see myself ever liking is "Birmingham." I've been listening to it, trying to like it. I could see it being pretty cool in concert, but I don't get out to concerts much.
I'm not going to say whether this is a bad thing. Frankly, with Get Up Kids fans, it's too personal to say. All I will say is that when On a Wire came out, I was not a fan. Hell, I was even hoping they'd not make another album and focus on The New Amsterdams. And then Guilt Show showed up, and years passed and now, On a Wire is one of my favorite albums by them, one of my favorite albums period. Something to Write Home About was a great album, yes. It's my favorite. But I'm not ruling out There Are Rules. I certainly don't think this is the best album they've released, but it's definitely the most interesting. Each song kept me guessing.
I give it a five because I have a feeling that in three years, this will be one of my favorite Get Up Kids' album. I'm already feeling like rocking out in my apartment to it. That's a good sign.