REVIEW: The Get Up Kids, Something to Write Home About (Vagrant)
- Kerwin So
Let me start off by saying that I love the Get Up Kids. For a while they represented all that was vital and appealing about rock 'n' roll-- great songs, unbelievable energy, and emotion to spare. From their critically acclaimed debut Four Minute Mile, to their hard-to-find "Woodson" EP, to this summer's smoother sounding but still excellent "Red Letter Day" EP, the Get Up Kids could literally do no wrong. Even their tributes to the Pixies and the Cure were inspired and true, entertaining on their own while doing justice to the originals. The Get Up Kids simultaneously defined and innovated the emerging face of emo rock.
So, what happened? The new CD Something to Write Home About mocks its own title-- for a few pretty good songs, you have to wade through a deluge of sappy filler. It's an album marred by bad decisions. For one thing, the band decided to give up the able hands of guys like Ed Rose and Bob Weston to produce the record themselves. That was a huge mistake: besides putting too much emphasis on lead singer Matt Pryor's whiny tenor, the entire record has a thoroughly bland, almost adult-contemporary texture to it, and songs like the rockin' "Close to Home," which could have been great, are sapped of their potential.
Moreover, the vast majority of tracks the Get Up Kids chose to include are ballads and mellower songs, devoid of the band's trademark dynamics and blistering energy-- no doubt in an attempt to demonstrate that they are "maturing." I completely welcome musicians' efforts to grow and develop their sound, but one of the unfortunate outcomes of this new emphasis on ballads (besides robbing long-time fans of the band we once knew and loved) is the subsequent prominence of the lyrics. The Get Up Kids still need more time to expand their lexicon and explore other themes-- words like "anniversary" and "apology" are spewed forth all too often.
Ironically, most of the good songs on Something to Write Home About have already been released. The song "Red Letter Day" can be found on the EP of the same name, and "I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel" was released as part of Tree Records' Postmarked Stamps 7" series. Both songs sounded better in their previous incarnations. The only truly new song which resembles the Get Up Kids of old is the solid "Ten Minutes" (incidentally the only track on which guitarist Jim Suptic sings lead), whose crunchy guitars, energizing rhythms, and perfectly-placed vocal harmonies actually work well within the context of the slick new production in a Foo Fighters sort of way.
The Get Up Kids tried to lose the "kids" in their name with their latest record, trying to grow up too fast in a sometimes treacherous emo scene that feeds on red-raw emotion, freshly scrubbed youth, and bands who die out before they ever record their third album. Sticking to a fiercely independent aesthetic, the Get Up Kids declined major label offers in favor of signing with Vagrant, unfortunately cementing a couple of mistakes in the process: alienating some of their core fans with a lackluster new record, and losing the opportunity to make it big and still produce a worthwhile work of art (like Capitol now exiles Jimmy Eat World). Although Something to Write Home About disappoints, I'm more than willing to give the band another chance, as they still have a lot going for them, and have already written so many great songs that they ought to be allowed some missteps before reaching their mid-20s. Besides, their live show remains super-fun. Here's to better decisions come the next time.
