(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.
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