Get Up Kids play the Phoenix March 8. See listing. Rating: NN
On their fifth album, the Get Up Kids sound like a band who resent what made them popular in the first place. Fine, being credited with pioneering emo isn’t going to get you tons of respect. But their late 90s albums – Four Minute Mile, Something To Write Home About – feature great pop songwriting, especially considering the Kids’ young age, and an unbridled enthusiasm that contrasted with the dark days of Limp Bizkit and Korn domination. It was fun, anthemic rock, certainly nothing to run from.
Let’s just skip the reunion narrative, since their breakup came a whopping four years before the recording of this angry mess of synths and beats. Opener Tithe sets an agitated tone, with Matt Pryor’s distinctive vocals distorted and buried under obtrusive keyboards that mask any chance of a melody. Regent’s Court is more jittery electro-rock, though with a decent chorus that gets abruptly cut short. Birmingham’s attempt at new wave is a low point, further confirming that this reunion wasn’t such a swell idea.
Top track: Shatter Your Lungs
