There Are Rules

Midwestern emo heroes The Get Up Kids have certainly kept themselves busy since they split amicably in 2004. Bassist Rob Pope joined indie powerhouse Spoon, guitarist Jim Suptic formed the post-emo outfit Blackpool Lights, keyboardist James Dewees toured with the reunited metaclore band Coalesce, and frontman Matt Pryor went back to his lo-fi singer/songwriter roots. But despite the presence of usual producer Ed Rose, reunion album There Are Rules finds the Kids grasping for their collective identity after so long apart. Pryor and Suptic's songwriting is too often unimaginative or just plain lost in the sludgy production. A heavy dose of Dewees' atmospheric keyboards fails to mesh with the rest of the band's revitalized punk aesthetic. Across the record, the quintet shows flashes of brilliance, but seldom manages to match the warmth and vulnerability of past successes. There are still reminders of what works, such as the charged-up ending to "The Widow Paris," the '80s-tinged "Automatic," and the snappy two-minute romp "Regent's Court." Closer "Rememorable" could have been a 7" single back in their Doghouse Records days, only with a more mature edge. But while it's always welcome to see old friends returns, There Are Rules fails to add a meaningful chapter to the Get Up Kids' horn-rimmed, sweater-clad legacy.