Album Review

The Get Up Kids – There Are Rules

• 26th Jan 2011

An all too short Fantomas-resounding intro leads us straight into a Manic Street Preachers/Green Day amalgamation of an album. It does hold its own however and despite the fact that I’m not a big Manics fan, the opener ‘Tithe’ really does set a pleasing precedent for ‘There Are Rules’, the fifth LP from Kansas’ The Get Up Kids (TGUK).
Mid-way through the beasts belly and we thankfully happen upon more diverse sounds than those usually offered by the aforementioned bands of comparison, with a broader Secret Machines/Interpol feel being freely offered from ‘Rally ‘Round the Fool’ onward.

And I’m pleased to report that as opposed to the usual format of returning to the norm after a brief mid-way sonic excursion, the album seems to gain strength in newer found (albeit budget) flights of fancy. Okay, so maybe there’s the ever-present Manic Street Preachers/Green Day back-drop, but it’s a surely forgivable oversight.

I’m going to recommend that this at least gets a listen; there’s nothing much in the way of originality it’s true, but with such undeniable vitality and song-writing strength, it’s difficult to deliver a single heartfelt complaint. And although unenthused I’m left impressed by LP closing time.

Given my inclination toward the weird; I’m intrigued as to just what this band sounded like from the outset, without a decade filled with success-filled aspirations or banal band break-ups shaping their natural sound. Maybe try getting the likes of Dave Fridmann involved to shake things up a little?

‘There Are Rules’ is released Feb 28 2011 on CD/LP (heavyweight vinyl, gatefold sleeve) & digital download.