Get down with the Get Up Kids
By Jeff Renfro
The Get Up Kids' soon-to-be released album, "Guilt Show," is a synthesis of the aggressive style that won them legions of adoring fans, and the mature style featured on 2002's "On a Wire." Normally, an attempt to accommodate two completely different styles would lead to a muddled product that satisfies no one, but TGUK have created an album that avoids the trappings of a major style change.
Hailing from the Midwest, TGUK (Matthew Pryor-guitar/vocals, Jim Suptic-guitar/vocals, James Dewees-keyboards, Robert Pope-bass, and Ryan Pope-drums) were pioneers of what is now "emo." With their classic 1997 release, "Four Minute Mile," TGUK defined a genre and became an underground sensation. After a move to Vagrant Records, the band released "Something to Write Home About," which became their strongest commercial showing. After a long break with no new material, TGUK released "On a Wire" in 2002. The album was a dramatic departure from their earlier work. The album's acoustic guitars, slower pacing, and mature lyrics received extremely mixed reviews. For better or worse, the band appeared to have rounded a corner in their career.
"Guilt Show" should satisfy fans of both of the band's styles. The electric guitars are back and Pope has been given back the freedom to speed things up, while the band continues to write insightful, heartfelt lyrics. They have taken the elements that made both of their styles great and worked them into each song on the album.
From "Guilt Show's" opening track, "Man of Conviction," it is clear that the band intends to bring the intensity back to this album. The two-minute track begins with the sound of a guitar being plugged into an amp (always a great way to begin an album) and launches into a furious guitar attack. The track is filled out by Dewees' keyboards. The track also incorporates the religious themes that pervade the album, as shown in the lyric "God Bless, he's a man of conviction/With evidence enough to convict him/He stands by the side of the victim/With strength enough to forgive him/Hopefully nobody saw him."
The band seems to recreate the best moments of "On a Wire" with the track "Sympathy." The song features verses led by keyboards that give way to guitars in the chorus. TGUK were known as a band that was preoccupied with girls and heartbreak on their earlier albums, but explored more "adult" topics on "On a Wire." "Sympathy" revisits the familiar terrain of a break-up, but addresses it with maturity. Rather than seeing the break-up as the end of his life, Pryor sings about moving on and learning from the experience.
Top to bottom "Guilt Show" is a strong album. The six and a half minute track "Is There a Way Out" takes a few listens to get used to, but it's worth the effort. When "Guilt Show" is released on March 2nd, it will be sure to bring back fans of the band that were turned off by "On a Wire" and garner a whole new set of admirers.
Grade: A-
û Contact Jeff Renfro at (408) 554-4546 or jrenfro@scu.edu