Get Up Kids


(Copyright © 2003 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )

Four Minute Mile (1998) , 6.5/10
Something to Write Home About (1998), 6/10
On a Wire (2002), 5.5/10
Guilt Show (2004), 5/10
Reggie and the Full Effect: Greatest Hits 1984-87 (1999), 6/10
Reggie and the Full Effect: Promotional Copy (2000), 6.5/10
Reggie and the Full Effect: Under the Tray (2003), 6/10
Reggie and the Full Effect: Songs Not To Get Married To (2005), 5/10
There Are Rules (2011), 4.5/10
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(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)

The Get Up Kids are a Kansas City-based emo-core quintet (vocalist Matt Pryor, guitarist Jim Suptic, bassist Robert Pope, drummer Ryan Pope, and, last but not least, keyboardist and former Coalesce's drummer James DeWees) that debuted with Four Minute Mile (Dughouse, 1998), a touching, intense and soulful song cycle.

More riffs and hooks turned Something to Write Home About (Dughouse, 1998) into a more musical affair, but also detracted from the overall effect. The brain was all over the sound, but the heart was not there anymore. Holiday was still rocking hard, but most of the album indulged in a faceless letargy that failed to sustain the passion of I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel and Long Goodnight.

On a Wire (Vagrant, 2002) is a collection of mediocre songs that aspire at being "mature" but are quite simply inane. A few exceptions (Campfire Kansas, Walking On A Wire, Overdue) do not redeem the melodic predictability of the album, which is basically an embarrassing sell-out.

Eudora (Vagrant) collects rarities.

Pryor is also the brain behind the project New Amsterdams, that released the more streamlined and acoustic Never You Mind (2001) and Para Toda Vida (Vagrant, 2002).

At best, Guilt Show (Vagrant, 2004) offers catchy power-pop a` la Blink 182 (Man Of Conviction) and power-ballads with Ben Folds-ian piano. Hardly original, their bid for mainstream stardom is so derivative that each song sounds like a cover.

Get Up Kids' keyboardist James Dewees (also drummer for Coalessce) launched his project Reggie and the Full Effect (himself on all instruments) with the poppy and witty Greatest Hits 1984-87 (Sound Nature, 1999), crafting the powerful emocore lyrics and metalcore sound of Promotional Copy (2000), that also boasted an unusual (for the genre) sense of humour and catchy hooks. In fact, the whole project sounded like a deliberate joke. Instead, it quickly outpaced the main group, thanks to the varied sound of Under the Tray (Vagrant, 2003), ranging from synth-pop to heavy-metal. Songs Not To Get Married To (Vagrant, 2005) is the least interesting of the four albums.

The Get Up Kids disbanded in 2004. James Dewees joined New Found Glory. Jim Suptic formed Blackpool Light.

Matt Suggs of Butterglory and Rob Pope of the Get Up Kids formed White Whale, a quintet that debuted with WWI (2006).

As expected, the Get Up Kids reformed for There Are Rules (2011), and, as expected, the keyboard-heavy album was disappointing.

(Copyright © 2003 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )
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