The Get Up Kids - On A Wire Review
Posted by Eric Katz on 09.08.2002
We’ve been waiting 3 years for this?!
Before I start, I have to tell Adam that I still call it post punk retro rock. A) I’m not calling it just “post punk”, but “post punk retro rock”. And b), genre names are always used over, like how there was the hardcore of the early 80’s and there’s the hardcore of now. But moving onwards . . .
So there’s this band that makes a cd in 1997. They had never made a cd before, just a few lp recordings. They make a cd in 2 days, release it on Doghouse Records, and become the new kings of emotional hardcore. Who am I talking about? The Get Up Kids. Their debut cd, “4 Minute Mile”, is probably one of the most emo cds to come out after 1994. So they go and tour with the big boys as an opening act, and then in 1999 they create a mini label, merge with indie label Vagrant Records, and release Something To Write Home About on Vagrant/Heroes and Villians recordings. This cd was HUGE. It’s one of the best selling indie cd’s of all time (I don’t have the numbers with me). It was less emo and more pop, but the emo pop they had created was brilliant.
Then, the Get Up Kids had some problems. A few members had created a side project called Reggie and the Full Effect. Then Matthew Pryor, guitarist and singer, created an acoustic side project called The New Amsterdams with bassist Rob Pope and two other random dudes. The band hardly ever saw each other, besides from tours, so there was no time to write music. However, by 2002 they had put some songs together and in June of this year, they released “On A Wire”. And that’s when the Get Up Kids died and were reborn.
“On A Wire” is NOT The Get Up Kids of 1997 or 1999. The band is completely different! Two tracks are acoustic tracks, Overdue (the first single), and Hannah Hold On. Most of the tracks on this cd don’t go anywhere. They just bounce along with no true purpose. The Get Up Kids songs usually are exciting, rocking, or at least have a huge dynamics change. But “On A Wire” is a cd full of boring songs. Ok, mostly boring songs. There are a few good songs. The stand out track for me is Campfire Kansas, which uses distorted vocals and the one good piano part in the cd. Yes, that’s another point. The piano parts are god awful. They are extremely annoying, and do not help any of the songs.
So what about the lyrics? Well, Pryor was expecting his first child around this time, so “your daughter” is a constant subject. But honestly, the lyrics aren’t amazing like the lyrics from Saves the Day’s new cd, “Stay What You Are” were. I only bring that up because both cds are very different for the band. Lyrics from Saves the Day helped to make the cd good, but the lyrics in “On a Wire” simply do not affect my feelings on this cd.
So overall, The Get Up Kids are done my friends. See The Promise Ring and Jimmy Eat World for more examples of this. Bands that used to be very emotional hardcore (or more post hardcore emo rock) and that have now gone to hell. The Get Up Kids want you to believe that this cd is “Midwestern Rock.” It really is a cd with no inspiration, no typical Get Up Kids rock to it, and very little redeeming value.
So I'm done for this week, next week I'll be back but I don't know with what. Maybe some Sunny Day Real Estate. Remember, put down the mall metal and listen to real music, (just not new music by The Get Up Kids).
