There Are Rules
Seen as the godfathers of emo, The Get Up Kids have constantly fought to disassociate themselves from the scene they helped inspire. This is their first record since reuniting, and it continues their progression away from their emo tag. On the surface, this is dark, indie-electro, toe-tapping rock, but on further listens it’s evident that it’s so, so much more. The performances are dark at times, particularly the electronic influences in the instrumentation. Sometimes, this can be off-putting, and it’s certainly a far cry from the emo/punk I was expecting. It’s not exactly the sort of gritty rock sound we heard on older tracks like ‘Action and Action’. In fact, comparing it to the rest of their back catalogue, it’s like a totally different band. This album will probably split The Get Up Kids’ fan-base in two. As a band who were should a big influence on acts like blink-182 and Fall Out Boy, it’s a surprise to hear them sound so experimental here. Maybe this album is best enjoyed in isolation from their back catalogue, because their earlier material has a raw, rock energy sorely missing from There Are Rules. Shock over, and willing to take this as an indie/electro record, my opinion improved. The band has progressed into something different, but the electro influence was clear on parts of Guilt Show in 2004. Here, those influences are in the forefront, as The Get Up Kids put most bands in that genre to shame. The almost dissonant riff that helps see in opening track ‘Tithe’ is raw and aggressive, an almost anti-indie anthem. What follows is an inconsistent record that at least has some heart an energy. It’s a new sound for the band, but There Are Rules is a good record in its own right. The band are tight, and the vocals are great, which is enough to carry songs like ‘Regent’s Court’ and ‘When It Dies’. Some of its moments are a bit boring, just because this kind of electro-indie style is everywhere these days. It holds together well, but tracks like ‘Pararelevent’ suffer from way too much production, and maybe would’ve sound better stripped down. That’s the main gripe with this album…it’s too over-produced. The songs are brilliant, and grew on me more and more with each listen, but this would be a fantastic album if it was stripped down to the basics. It’s definitely interesting, and is well paced, but seems to be missing a little something. As much as I need to take this album on its own merit, it is impossible to avoid comparisons with previous albums. It comes back to the fact that The Get Up Kids were a huge influence on a genre, and seem to have abandoned it with this album. It will disappoint a few fans, but undoubtedly bring them legions more in other scenes. Female First - Alistair McGeorge