The Get Up Kids - "Automatic" (2011)

No one would have blamed The Get Up Kids for staying broken up. The band had released four pretty solid albums, a number of EPs as well as a live record. They had long been the underdogs of emo, a genre they simultaneously helped create and didn't want to be associated with. The members had all moved on too. Lead singer Matthew Pryor released more albums from his side project The New Amsterdams. Guitarist/vocalist Jim Suptic had released an album with his new band Blackpool lights and keyboardist James Dewees has been touring with My Chemical Romance. And lets be honest, with the band in their mid-30s, it wasn't unrealistic to suggest that maybe they had outgrown their name. Nevertheless, The Get Up Kids made thousands of fans happy last year when they released a new EP entitled Simple Science with the promise of a new full-length to follow. Well the time has come and There Are Rules, the band's fifth proper album has hit stores. One thing that's apparent upon listening to album opener “Tithe,” is that The Get Up Kids are louder and angrier than before. The driving guitars are a far cry from 2002's subdued On a Wire. Dewees and his synthesizers take a larger role than ever before on Rules, especially on tracks like “Better Lie” and the Cure-inspired “Shatter You Lungs.” One of the bigger surprises on the album comes in the form of “Rally 'Round the Fool,” a slow burning five minute track with a 90s industrial sound. It's one of the last bright spots on the record before it begins its lackluster second half. That's not to say the album is disappointing, but it's obviously front loaded with the best material. All in all, it's good to have The Get Up Kids back. There Are Rules proves that the band still has more left to say. Today's track is one of two that features Suptic on vocals. It probably has the best hook on the album and the best integration of keyboards as well.


The Get Up Kids - "Automatic"

OK, since it's Valentine's Day, I would be remiss if I didn't also share with you a Get Up Kids classic from their most celebrated album, 1999's Something To Write Home About. Here is "Valentine."


The Get Up Kids - "Valentine"