There Are Rules
Encyclopedia
There Are Rules is the fifth studio album by The Get Up Kids
, the band's first full-length release since 2004's Guilt Show
. After their initial reunion, the band decided to challenge themselves to write and record an album in only two weeks without using any digital technology. Ultimately, due to conflicting schedules, they dropped the two-week deadline and recorded over several months in 2009 and 2010. Much of the album was recorded in the same sessions as their first post-reunion release, Simple Science
, the song "Keith Case" being featured on both.
to begin writing their first new material since breaking up in 2005. Over the course of several months, they recorded a total of nine songs using entirely analog equipment. Originally, they planned to record three more songs and release a series of three 12" vinyl EPs
in 2010. However, this plan was scrapped after the release of Simple Science
, the first of the planned series, and the band instead decided to combine the remaining tracks with more new material and release a full-length album.
In the years away from the group, several members had gone on to join major-label acts; Rob Pope
became the bassist for Spoon
, and James Dewees
became the touring keyboardist for My Chemical Romance
. Because of these prior commitments, writing and recording sessions had to be scheduled long in advance. The songwriting process itself was more free-form than on previous albums, usually beginning with one member suggesting an instrumental part and building on it. If they didn't like the result in 30 minutes, they abandoned it. For instance, the song "Regent's Court" was written in one hour before Matt Pryor had to pick his kids up from school. The only song recorded in these sessions that has yet to be released is "Neverending," the first song written after the band's reunion.
The song is a departure lyrically from the band's past work, due in large part to their attempts to make the album as unique from their past work as possible. Although the band has been known for writing heartfelt, emotional love songs, Pryor didn't want any songs about relationships on the album. "I felt like I could write love songs until I'm blue in the face and it's one of the things that this band has been known for to a certain degree. It's just to challenge myself as a songwriter to not write about anything that's formulaic for me." Pryor also didn't write lyrics until the songs were in a mostly completed state, making sure that the music aspect came first; "I had to write lyrics for ten songs at a time. No love songs; I had to have the lyrics fit the mood of the music." Unlike their previous three albums, There Are Rules was not released on Vagrant Records
. Instead, the album was released through the band's own Quality Hill Records, named after the historic Quality Hill neighborhood in the band's hometown of Kansas City, Missouri
. According to Pryor, the move to their own label (along with the financial support provided by their other projects) has given them greater creative freedom than they previously had. "We’re not in the music rat race so much, so I think this record is us choosing to do something creative even if it ends up not being as popular as some of the poppier stuff."
representative and Myspace Music head Jason Reynolds. However, after Reynolds left Myspace, he approached the band about self-distributing the album on their own label. The album was released on January 25, 2011 on compact disc, 180 gram vinyl and digital download. The iTunes version of the album came with two bonus tracks.
, denoting "mixed or average reviews." Pitchfork
reviewer Ian Cohen praised the band for attempting to move their sound forward, but felt the results were somewhat aimless; "Gone are the band's geographic puns and tales of the romantic rigors of college freshman, but they're replaced by a professional anonymity that kinda sums up the problem with There Are Rules: When you spent the prime of your career trying to document the contours of post-teen torment, what happens when you no longer have a first-hand view?" Marc Hawthorne of The Onion A.V. Club applauded the band's energy and new direction, but commented that the songwriting felt "undercooked." He was more positive overall than the Pitchfork reviewer, however, ending the review by saying "[t]here’s no doubt that these guys can still rock with all the heart-on-sleeve younguns they’ve influenced; now they just have to rediscover something worth writing home about."
However, some reviews were far more positive. In his review for Drowned in Sound
, reviewer Tom Perry noted that the album was a major leap forward for the band; "The Get Up Kids of yore wouldn't have pulled off a song like 'Rally Around The Fool'. Before it would have had all the edge and menace of a kitten baring its teeth at you. Now they employ nuanced horror keyboards, digital ticks and big soundtrack guitars working the magic...It is a superb track that couldn't have been made if they'd stuck to a safer formula." Adam Pfleider of Absolute Punk wrote a glowing review, while warning fans not to expect it to sound like the band's previous work; "Some of There Are Rules will be hard to swallow for many of the band's fans...The familiar nuances have been rearranged and built into something stronger, but the attitude and depth is all the same, if not more adhesive and much more endearing than before." One of the most positive takes came from Alternative Press
, who gave the album four-and-a-half stars out of five; "There Are Rules truly stands out in the members' collective catalogs as a completely unique entity, and one that should be viewed as nothing less than an absolutely stunning success."
Production
Design
The Get Up Kids
The Get Up Kids are an American alternative rock band from Kansas City, Missouri. Formed in 1995, the band was a major player in the mid-90's emo scene, otherwise known as the "second wave" of emo music...
, the band's first full-length release since 2004's Guilt Show
Guilt Show
Guilt Show is the fourth studio album by The Get Up Kids. It was released on Vagrant Records on March 3, 2004.-Recording:The album was the first album to be recorded in Black Lodge Studios, the recording studio in Eudora, Kansas renovated and owned by The Get Up Kids and producer Ed Rose...
. After their initial reunion, the band decided to challenge themselves to write and record an album in only two weeks without using any digital technology. Ultimately, due to conflicting schedules, they dropped the two-week deadline and recorded over several months in 2009 and 2010. Much of the album was recorded in the same sessions as their first post-reunion release, Simple Science
Simple Science
-Personnel:Band*Matt Pryor - Lead Vocals, Guitar*Jim Suptic - Guitar, Vocals*Rob Pope - Bass*Ryan Pope - Drums*James Dewees - Keyboards, VocalsProduction*Ed Rose - Production-Chart performance:...
, the song "Keith Case" being featured on both.
Production
In the summer of 2009, The Get Up Kids entered the studio with longtime collaborator Ed RoseEd Rose
Ed Rose is an American sound engineer and record producer. He has worked extensively with groups in the modern emo and pop punk scenes. He also co-owns Black Lodge Recording with Rob Pope and his brother Ryan Pope.-History:...
to begin writing their first new material since breaking up in 2005. Over the course of several months, they recorded a total of nine songs using entirely analog equipment. Originally, they planned to record three more songs and release a series of three 12" vinyl EPs
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
in 2010. However, this plan was scrapped after the release of Simple Science
Simple Science
-Personnel:Band*Matt Pryor - Lead Vocals, Guitar*Jim Suptic - Guitar, Vocals*Rob Pope - Bass*Ryan Pope - Drums*James Dewees - Keyboards, VocalsProduction*Ed Rose - Production-Chart performance:...
, the first of the planned series, and the band instead decided to combine the remaining tracks with more new material and release a full-length album.
In the years away from the group, several members had gone on to join major-label acts; Rob Pope
Rob Pope
-History:Rob Pope grew up in Olathe, Kansas. In the summer of 1994, he was in a band called "Kingpin" with his brother Ryan and future Get Up Kids bandmate Jim Suptic. After the band broke up due to internal conflicts, Rob and Jim re-formed with Matt Pryor, who had been playing with Secular Theme...
became the bassist for Spoon
Spoon (band)
Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
, and James Dewees
James Dewees
James Dewees is an American musician who has been involved in many musical projects including Coalesce, The Get Up Kids, Reggie and the Full Effect, New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance, and, most recently, Leathermouth....
became the touring keyboardist for My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance is an American alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way and have a diverse sound incorporating elements of punk, emo, glam metal, and progressive rock...
. Because of these prior commitments, writing and recording sessions had to be scheduled long in advance. The songwriting process itself was more free-form than on previous albums, usually beginning with one member suggesting an instrumental part and building on it. If they didn't like the result in 30 minutes, they abandoned it. For instance, the song "Regent's Court" was written in one hour before Matt Pryor had to pick his kids up from school. The only song recorded in these sessions that has yet to be released is "Neverending," the first song written after the band's reunion.
The song is a departure lyrically from the band's past work, due in large part to their attempts to make the album as unique from their past work as possible. Although the band has been known for writing heartfelt, emotional love songs, Pryor didn't want any songs about relationships on the album. "I felt like I could write love songs until I'm blue in the face and it's one of the things that this band has been known for to a certain degree. It's just to challenge myself as a songwriter to not write about anything that's formulaic for me." Pryor also didn't write lyrics until the songs were in a mostly completed state, making sure that the music aspect came first; "I had to write lyrics for ten songs at a time. No love songs; I had to have the lyrics fit the mood of the music." Unlike their previous three albums, There Are Rules was not released on Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...
. Instead, the album was released through the band's own Quality Hill Records, named after the historic Quality Hill neighborhood in the band's hometown of Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. According to Pryor, the move to their own label (along with the financial support provided by their other projects) has given them greater creative freedom than they previously had. "We’re not in the music rat race so much, so I think this record is us choosing to do something creative even if it ends up not being as popular as some of the poppier stuff."
Release
Originally, the band wanted to release the album for free online through MySpace Music, working with former Sub PopSub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
representative and Myspace Music head Jason Reynolds. However, after Reynolds left Myspace, he approached the band about self-distributing the album on their own label. The album was released on January 25, 2011 on compact disc, 180 gram vinyl and digital download. The iTunes version of the album came with two bonus tracks.
Reception
The album received somewhat positive reception. It holds a 60 rating on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, denoting "mixed or average reviews." Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
reviewer Ian Cohen praised the band for attempting to move their sound forward, but felt the results were somewhat aimless; "Gone are the band's geographic puns and tales of the romantic rigors of college freshman, but they're replaced by a professional anonymity that kinda sums up the problem with There Are Rules: When you spent the prime of your career trying to document the contours of post-teen torment, what happens when you no longer have a first-hand view?" Marc Hawthorne of The Onion A.V. Club applauded the band's energy and new direction, but commented that the songwriting felt "undercooked." He was more positive overall than the Pitchfork reviewer, however, ending the review by saying "[t]here’s no doubt that these guys can still rock with all the heart-on-sleeve younguns they’ve influenced; now they just have to rediscover something worth writing home about."
However, some reviews were far more positive. In his review for Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
, reviewer Tom Perry noted that the album was a major leap forward for the band; "The Get Up Kids of yore wouldn't have pulled off a song like 'Rally Around The Fool'. Before it would have had all the edge and menace of a kitten baring its teeth at you. Now they employ nuanced horror keyboards, digital ticks and big soundtrack guitars working the magic...It is a superb track that couldn't have been made if they'd stuck to a safer formula." Adam Pfleider of Absolute Punk wrote a glowing review, while warning fans not to expect it to sound like the band's previous work; "Some of There Are Rules will be hard to swallow for many of the band's fans...The familiar nuances have been rearranged and built into something stronger, but the attitude and depth is all the same, if not more adhesive and much more endearing than before." One of the most positive takes came from Alternative Press
Alternative Press (music magazine)
Alternative Press is an American music magazine based in Cleveland, Ohio. It generally provides readers with band interviews, photos, information on upcoming releases, and music charts. It was founded in 1985 by Mike Shea, who is the current president....
, who gave the album four-and-a-half stars out of five; "There Are Rules truly stands out in the members' collective catalogs as a completely unique entity, and one that should be viewed as nothing less than an absolutely stunning success."
Track listing
Chart performance
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
124 |
| Top Rock Albums | 33 |
| Top Independent Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
15 |
| Top Alternative Albums | 22 |
| Top Tastemaker Albums | 19 |
Personnel
Band- Matt Pryor – vocalsHuman voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Jim SupticJim SupticJim Suptic is an American musician and entrepreneur, best known for being the guitarist for Kansas City, Missouri band The Get Up Kids.-The Get Up Kids:...
– vocals, guitar - Ryan Pope – DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Rob PopeRob Pope-History:Rob Pope grew up in Olathe, Kansas. In the summer of 1994, he was in a band called "Kingpin" with his brother Ryan and future Get Up Kids bandmate Jim Suptic. After the band broke up due to internal conflicts, Rob and Jim re-formed with Matt Pryor, who had been playing with Secular Theme...
– BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - James DeweesJames DeweesJames Dewees is an American musician who has been involved in many musical projects including Coalesce, The Get Up Kids, Reggie and the Full Effect, New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance, and, most recently, Leathermouth....
– KeyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
, vocals
Production
- Ed RoseEd RoseEd Rose is an American sound engineer and record producer. He has worked extensively with groups in the modern emo and pop punk scenes. He also co-owns Black Lodge Recording with Rob Pope and his brother Ryan Pope.-History:...
– ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineering, mixing - Bob WestonBob WestonBob Weston is an American musician, producer, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason Ankeny declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over the American underground rock of the post-punk era, producing and engineering dates for a seemingly endless number of...
– Mixing
Design
- Micah Smith – Artwork