The Get Up Kids

The Get Up Kids: Simple ScienceSimple Science (2010)
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Reviewer Rating: 4

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Contributed by: swankswank
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Published on April 23rd 2010A lot has happened to the members of the Get Up Kids since the final chords rang out in Kansas City at the band's "final" show in 2005. Matt Pryor continued releasing albums with the New Amsterdams, as well as a solo album (2008's Confidence Man) and two children's albums under the Terrible Twos mon.

A lot has happened to the members of the Get Up Kids since the final chords rang out in Kansas City at the band's "final" show in 2005. Matt Pryor continued releasing albums with the New Amsterdams, as well as a solo album (2008's Confidence Man) and two children's albums under the Terrible Twos moniker. James Dewees did touring keyboardist stints with both New Found Glory and My Chemical Romance, hit rehab, played drums in MCR side project Leathermouth and released the slightly disappointing but arguably more focused Reggie and the Full Effect album, Last Stop: Crappy Town. Bassist Rob Pope joined indie rock sensations Spoon, as well as taking over Black Lodge Recording studio with his brother (and GUK drummer) Ryan Pope and producer Ed Rose. Jim Suptic came out of the gate strong with his Blackpool Lights project, but ended up hocking galvanized nails at Home Depot towards the end of the decade--not exactly the future you'd hope would befall the man who sang such anthems as "Ten Minutes" and "Forgive and Forget." Needless to say, it was a strange few years for the Kansas City quintet.

The break-up didn't take, however, as 2008 finally saw their return to stage and studio, cranking out an album's worth of new material, which will be released as three EPs over the course of this year. The band has boasted that "almost no computer technology was used" in the recording of Simple Science (and its eventual followups), and it shines through in the analog aesthetic of the record. Effects are present particularly in the bass and vocals, but it never detracts from the refreshingly unpolished, almost murky, band-in-a-big-room sound. The keyboards provide more atmospheric than lead melody this time around, the rhythm section being the real standout of the EP. Their gritty, distorted bass and big roomy drums make "Keith Case" the record's highlight. Originally debuted on 2009's Daytrotter sessions, "Your Pretty Petty Things" returns as the EP's opener, complete with the eerie William S. Burroughs "Does it seem to be persisting?" sample. The fourth and final song is "How You're Bound," a subtle, drum machine-led song, which recalls Guilt Show's "Is There a Way Out."

So, while different and hard to compare to the rest of their catalogue, the Simple Science EP is a solid progression from their Guilt Show-era material, and leaves an appetite for the remaining parts of the proposed trilogy and hopefully much more to come from the reunited Get Up Kids.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

veryEmergency (April 25, 2010)

this is their best music to date

Cheesetits (April 24, 2010)

Pretty hit and miss.

inagreendase (April 23, 2010)

Editor should be fired, stat.

Dedricthere (April 23, 2010)

test

Swank (April 23, 2010)

Ugh, That sucks.
"Eventual successors" & "Jim Suptic".
I need to stop writing reviews after drinking entire bottles of Soya sauce.
Apologies if these errors hurt your brain to read, as they did mine.

FaithIsForFools (April 23, 2010)

There should be a "plus" sign in my last comment in between "ugly kid" and "pedophile bunny". I definitely typed it in... I don't know why Punknews is so fucking retarded that the site won't allow it.

FaithIsForFools (April 23, 2010)

A few random songs they have are alright, but overall I don't care about this band.

However, I'm commenting to mainly say that I really dig the artwork. Ugly kid pedophile bunny = neato!

phooky (April 23, 2010)

"and it's eventual predecessors"

umm.. that paradox actually makes no sense.

you meant to write, "and it's eventual successors"

anyway, this EP is great. though i'm still not sold on the 3 EPs vs 1 LP decision. seems like a money grab to me.

colin (April 23, 2010)

i really want to like this but it just gets too repetitive at times. i don't know, nothing grabbed me as something amazing. instead it was just kind of flat.

rob_rob (April 23, 2010)

When people talk about there analog recording it reminds me of when people people brag about how much they drank. It always seems like they didn't drink at all.

mattramone (April 23, 2010)

I didn't know there were so many 14 year old girls on this site.

holyromanstile (April 23, 2010)

Matt Suptic is definitely not a member of the Get Up Kids.

inspection12e (April 23, 2010)

I still don't have this thanks to fucking Interpunk. They have become useless over the past few years.

Jelone (April 23, 2010)

"eventual predecessors"

I do not think that word means what you think it means.

red_eye_inc (April 23, 2010)

ZERO STARS

They should have put more effort into this. It sounds like crap, the songs are unfocused and boring, the melodies are weak. At first I thought that the delivery method was just a cash-in, now I now that the whole thing is a sham. What a disappointment, I love all their other albums.

Hey_Asshole (April 23, 2010)

this is a really great ep. but, i am totally retarded for this band.

i had this on preorder from interpunk, and am wishing i would have done the preorder on Amazon. apparently the cd is on back order for another month or so from them.

hayman (April 23, 2010)

Something to write home about was a pretty awesome album, I almost forgot about these guys. Will get this for sure.

inagreendase (April 23, 2010)

Bought. I can trust this is good. Last time someone on the internet tried telling me the Get Up Kids released inferior material, I slept on an album for six months that I'd eventually be convinced was the band's best. Fuck you, Emotionalpunk.