“get_up_kids”
The Get Up Kids
Red Letter Day EP
Doghouse
I used to like this band a lot. I don’t really anymore, for several reasons, but I’ll stick to the music on this EP.
I still think their best songs are found on their older CD EP that collects their first two seven inches together. The songs on there totally pull me in. Great poppy emo-rock with lots of reasons to sing along. Last time I went and saw them live, I ended up being disappointed, as contrary to that EP, there didn’t seem to be much to latch on to that interested me. That’s my same complaint with this. There’s less rock and more pop gloss over the emo style this time. Five songs with some melodic heartstring tugging, but only the last two songs capture my attention and hold it with any degree of success. “Anne Arbour” is for sure the gem on here but seems to owe a bit to Jimmy Eat World’s “For Me This Is Heaven.” Maybe it’s just me. Similarity or no, it’s a good song. “Mass Pike” is a nice little pop song about falling and love that warms the heart a little.
I definitely have mixed feelings about this. It’s adequate, but there are so many other bands in this genre that are amazing, so listening to this doesn’t make me too excited. But it’s not necessarily bad either. It’s okay, with some points a bit higher than others.
Doghouse Records, P.O. Box 8946, Toledo, OH 43623; http://www.doghouserecords.com
