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Recently Matt Pryor<\/strong> completed a run of UK shows, and in honour of his return to these shores, we thought it\u2019d be good time to pit two albums from Pryor\u2019s most well-known band, The Get Up Kids<\/strong>, against each other.<\/p>\n Formed out of Kansas City in 1995, TGUK<\/strong> became one of the main spearheads of the turn of the millennium emo scene. After the release of a couple of EP\u2019s and their 1997 debut ‘Four Minute Mile’<\/em>, a disagreement with the bands label Doghouse Records led them to depart for Vagrant Records<\/strong>, a struggling LA-based independent label. The bands Vagrant debut, ‘Something To Write Home About’<\/em> in 1999 became a breakthrough record for both the band and the emo genre.<\/p>\n With rising popularity due to the success of ‘STWHA’<\/em> and tours alongside Green Day and Weezer, a compilation of b-sides and covers was released in the form of ‘Eudora’<\/em>. Whilst the bands former label (Doghouse) capitalised on the bands new found success by re-releasing ‘Four Minute Mile’<\/em> and combining the bands ‘Woodson’<\/em> and ‘Red Letter Day’<\/em> EP\u2019s as a one-disc release.<\/p>\n 2002 saw the release of ‘On A Wire’<\/em> and saw the quintet take a more organic, mature approach that still divides fans and critics now. Two years later ‘Guilt Show’<\/em> arrived and was better received by critics yet the bands personal problems and inner band tensions resulted in the band going on hiatus in 2005.<\/p>\n Over the next three years, the band concentrated on their solo projects, however in 2008 the band reconvened to celebrate the 10th anniversary of ‘STWHA’<\/em> for US and UK dates and a CD\/DVD re-release of the album.<\/p>\n 2010 saw the bands first new material in six years. An EP titled ‘Simple Science’<\/em> saw the bands sound more towards a more experimental, indie rock sound that was further enhanced on the bands 2011 full-length ‘There Are Rules’<\/em>.<\/p>\n Having built such a cult-like following in their nearly 20 years activity, The Get Up Kids<\/strong> have built an acclaimed worth of material during their time together. Nevertheless this edition of “Versus”<\/strong> sees two members of the Already Heard<\/strong> team putting their case forward their respective TGUK favourite LP\u2019s. First up Tom Knott explains why \u2018Something To Write Home About\u2019<\/em> is a masterpiece, whilst Senior Editor Sean Reid goes on to tell us why ‘Guilt Show’<\/em> is under-appreciated and is his personal favourite TGUK record.<\/p>\n What do you consider to be The Get Up Kids<\/strong>\u2019 best album and why? Let us know on our Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a> pages.<\/em><\/p>\n Something To Write Home About<\/strong> (by Tom Knott<\/a>) \u2018Something To Write Home About\u2019<\/em> begins with the now classic intro of \u2018Holiday\u2019<\/em> and ends with the indomitable love of \u2018I\u2019ll Catch You\u2019<\/em>. Between these two points is nothing but gold. Track through glorious track there isn\u2019t a dull moment to be had. The vocal deliveries are raw and emotive with instrumentation to match. It\u2019s almost impossible to pick out highlights of a record, wherein every second of every song, it\u2019s a worthy highlight. The chorus of \u2018Ten Minutes\u2019<\/em>, the riff after the chorus of \u2018Ten Minutes\u2019<\/em>, the breakdown of \u2018Ten Minutes\u2019<\/em>? All perfect examples of this album\u2019s brilliance.<\/p>\n \u2018Out of Reach\u2019<\/em> provides a soft break, utterly gorgeous in execution with Matt Pryor\u2019s soft vocals at their storytelling best. \u2018I\u2019m A Loner, Dottie. A Rebel.\u2019<\/em> is a bona fide classic. From the burst of the opening line \u2013 “Come tomorrow I\u2019ll be on my way back home”<\/em> \u2013 to the final crushing chorus, \u2018I\u2019m a Loner, Dottie\u2026\u2019<\/em> is an example of a band at the very top of their game. Followed by the soft swells of \u2018Long Goodnight\u2019<\/em>, which in turn give way to the anthemic \u2018Close To Home\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Something To Write Home About\u2019<\/em> is the quintessential Get Up Kids<\/strong> record. It is, for me, unrivaled both by the band\u2019s other four records (all of which I love dearly) and the records of every other band ever.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Closing track, \u2018I\u2019ll Catch You\u2019<\/em> is one of The Get Up Kids<\/strong>\u2019 most well known and beloved. Probably the one track you could count on an outsider to know. Truth be told, it was the first song that I heard by a band that became unfathomably important to me and it was one that I just didn\u2019t understand that first time. I thought it sucked. I could not get my head around why my friends were so enamored with it. Then, all of a sudden, the beauty of the lyrics, Pryor\u2019s untouchable vocals, and the oh-so-perfect combination of Ryan Pope\u2019s drums and James Dewees\u2019 keys hit me, and I\u2019ve been hard pressed to find an album so faultless since that moment.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t go wrong in picking an album by The Get Up Kids<\/strong> (although I expect someone will be sure to tell me that I have). Each of the band\u2019s releases has been exceptional. \u2018Something To Write Home About\u2019<\/em> may be the go to and sometimes I think people like to claim that it\u2019s the wrong choice because it is the most popular. But it\u2019s the most popular for a reason.<\/p>\n ‘Guilt Show’<\/strong> (by Sean Reid<\/a>) Throughout the Kansas subtly show signs of progression and experimentation; starting with the brash power pop ‘Man of Conviction’<\/em>, followed by the rockin\u2019 ‘The One You Want’<\/em>, it delivers the bright, upbeat start you want from a record.<\/p>\n At the other end of the spectrum is the slow-burning ‘The Dark Night of the Soul’<\/em> that explodes with relief in the chorus and the penultimate ‘Is There A Way Out’<\/em> is a haunting number with an aching vocal delivery.<\/p>\n Lyrically Pryor and company take a reflective, post-twentysomething approach which moves on from the yearning style from earlier releases. The end result is admirable. ‘Never Be Alone’<\/em> and ‘Sick In Her Skin’<\/em> (seemingly) deals with divorce, whilst ‘Wouldn’t Believe It’<\/em> takes on betrayal.<\/p>\n Nevertheless ‘Guilt Show’<\/em> is brilliant a pop-rock record that is a return to form after the haphazard ‘On A Wire’<\/em>. Sure its no masterpiece and if its true, ‘Guilt Show’<\/em> isn\u2019t even a full-band collaborative effort as it\u2019s been documentated that inner-band relations were becoming fragmented. However, that shouldn\u2019t hinder your opinion when hearing ‘Guilt Show’<\/em>. For all of its negativity, its the songs that benefit as The Get Up Kids<\/strong> showed progress towards a well-rounded rock band rather than the boxed in emo band they were known as.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure Tom Knott will do a fantastic job sticking up for ‘STWHA’<\/em>, and rightly so he should. It\u2019s a great record but ‘Guilt Show’<\/em> is on par with it and as a big fan of the band, I highly recommend it as an introduction to the band. With huge choruses, thoughtful lyrics and strong momentum fem start to finish, it\u2019s a record that shouldn\u2019t be ignored.<\/p>\n What do you consider to be The Get Up Kids<\/strong>\u2019 best album and why? Let us know on our Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a> pages.<\/em><\/p>\n ‘Wrist Slitter’<\/em> by Matt Pryor<\/strong> is out now on Alcopop Records.<\/p>\n The Get Up Kids<\/strong> links: Website<\/a>|Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently Matt Pryor completed a run of UK shows, and in honour of his return to these shores, we thought it\u2019d be good time to pit two albums from Pryor\u2019s most well-known band, The Get Up Kids, against each other. Formed out of Kansas City in 1995, TGUK became one of the main spearheads of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8181,2123],"tags":[306,122,10696,2226,6701,10697,1088,3029,5966,10698],"class_list":["post-24355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-post","category-versus","tag-alcopop-records","tag-feature","tag-guilt-show","tag-matt-pryor","tag-something-to-write-home-about","tag-tguk","tag-the-get-up-kids","tag-vagrant-records","tag-versus","tag-wrist-slitter"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Is The Get Up Kids<\/strong>\u2019 \u2018Something To Write Home About\u2019<\/em> the greatest album of all time? I\u2019ll accept a little debate on the matter. It\u2019s a bold claim; I can\u2019t deny that. Is it The Get Up Kids<\/strong>\u2019 masterpiece? Yup, although Sean will no doubt do a great job fighting \u2018Guilt Show\u2019<\/em>s corner.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Ok I\u2019ll begin my \u201cdefence\u201d by stating I don\u2019t have anything against ‘Something To Write Home About’<\/em>, it\u2019s a great album and deserves all the credit it gets but for me ‘Guilt Show’<\/em> tops it. Admittedly it doesn\u2019t have TGUK<\/strong> classics like ‘Action & Action’<\/em> or ‘I’ll Catch You’<\/em> but that\u2019s made up by a consistent blend of bitter, reflective songs and sensible pop hooks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n