The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules

Nothing makes me more nostalgic then music. A band, album, or song can always bring me back to a certain time in life. All these bands from my junior high and high school days reuniting really brings back the nostalgia of my youth.

So when I picked up the newest album from the Get Up Kids, I won’t lie, I was hoping to hear Something to Write Home About part 2. Sadly, There Are Rules is not the album I thought it would be.

Right from the start There Are Rules is different from anything The Get Up Kids have ever released. Tithe is probably the closest you’re going to hear to a “classic” Get Up Kids song but it has so much more energy and intensity that it doesn’t resemble the band we all remember. Regent’s Court is an indie dance track that’s done really well.

And that’s when the album gets weird. Not bad, just completely different from what I ever expected to hear. While Shatter Your Lungs is a low key, minimal electronic track, Automatic is a full on modern electro/indie song. By the time Pararelevant kicks in you begin to realize The Get Up Kids are pulling from completely different influences.

The synth and dance focus is used to create great upbeat songs as well as nice dark undertones. While the back end of the album seems to have a bunch of filler tracks (Keith Case, The Widow Paris) the Get Up Kids have made a mostly successful transformation from emo to new wave. The last track, Rememorable, is probably my favorite on the album.

There Are Rules isn’t the album I was expecting from the Get Up Kids. Instead it’s a band reinventing themselves and doing a pretty good job at it. While it’s a little disappointing for me and anyone else hoping to hear Some To Write Home About again, it is something fresh from the Get Up Kids and it’s done (mostly) well.

Ace Augustine - The Absolute

It’s probably fair to say there’s nothing new happening in metalcore. While there are bands doing metalcore justice and bringing their own spin to the genre, most of what’s happening is tired and played out.

Ace Augustine is the newest addition to the Strike First line-up and their debut The Absolute is another addition to the metalcore ranks.

The Absolute isn’t bring much new to the table in the way of sound. At various times I’m reminded of For Today, Haste the Day, and The Devil Wears Prada. The album’s opening track, Justifiers, didn’t give me much hope that the album would be any good. It starts in typical deathcore fashion and doesn’t deviate a whole lot from that path. But 2013 Looks Promising brings the modern metalcore sound in.

While the Absolute isn’t terrible technical on any level, and the riffs won’t make you go nuts, Ace Augustine’s debut isn’t a record to dismiss. What Ace Augustine doesn’t do is almost as important as what they do. The band does well of not falling into genre pitfalls. No 808 bass drops, not your standard screaming verse, clean sung chorus. While there are breakdowns, they aren’t out of control and running loose all over the place. A couple of nice gang chants, and a job well done and picking spots to mix the clean vocals in help the Absolute from being just another metalcore record.

My biggest issue is Ben Moser’s vocals. While his deep guttural growls are nice, his regular screams are too high pitched for me. The overall feel of his vocals remind me of Mike Hranica from TDWP.

Overall Ace Augustine’s debut is a decent album with some nice moments but a lot of what’s already available for mass consumption. If you love metalcore and can’t get enough, this is a record for you to pick up.

The Meltdown 1.19

New Music from Times of Grace, Arthur, Queens Club, As They Sleep, The Dingees, and more.

I Am Empire - Kings

After 2 weeks of hearing I Am Empire’s first single, Brain Damage, on the radio I was looking forward to hearing Tooth and Nail’s latest signings debut, Kings.

If I had to peg a genre on I Am Empire I’d have to just throw them into the radio rock category but I guess radio rock varies on where you live. Kings is a mixed bag of sorts and a tale of two halves.

The album kicks off with Brain Damage, an excellent high energy rock song. A great anthem and a killer track to start off the album. I don’t want to say its all downhill after that but Brain Damage is the best track on the album.

Heart Attack and Saints & Sinner are both high energy, driving rock songs. While Hammers and Anvils has a slight drop in energy, it still has the same catchy nature as the first 3 songs. Love & Despair is the first ballad of the record and a good one. The first 5 songs have a catchy, memorable quality about them. Each is interesting and slightly different enough to capture the listener’s attention.

But the second half of the album is a letdown. Where the first half of the album is catchy and interesting, the last 7 songs blend together and run one into the next with no real form or definition. I start feeling like I’ve heard the song I’m listening to already. The only exception is Foxhole, which has a catchy hook that grabs your attention.

While Kings isn’t the greatest album you’ll hear this year, there are a bunch of songs that are really good and grab your attention. I Am Empire is a band with potential and for a debut on Tooth and Nail, Kings isn’t half bad.

Top 10 Favorite DC Records

I've spent my entire life in Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. DC has a rich punk rock and hardcore history. Here are my top 10 favorite DC records.

10. Nation of Ulysses – Plays Pretty for Baby

Plays Pretty For Baby is a pretty straightforward punk album. While odd at times, the songs are mostly 4 on the floor, driving punk songs.



9. Minor Threat – Complete Discography

I know it’s ridiculous to have Minor Threat at number 9. The hardcore legends have earned their place in music history and in DC music history for sure. Minor Threat’s complete discography is a perfect picture of hardcore in 1984.



8. The Crownhate Ruin – Until the Eagle Grins

Post Hoover, members went on to form The Crownhate Ruin. One of the better early 90’s post hardcore record.



7. The Dismemberment Plan – Change

Dismemberment Plan’s final studio album as a smoother, more polished, more refined sound, and while it’s not really a departure from any of the band’s earlier work, it’s just enough of a sonic shift to capture my attention a little more.



6. Beauty Pill – The Unsustainable Lifestyle

One of those little indie rock gems that very few people know about. Their one and only full-length is a beautiful, although lyrically twisted at times, indie rock album that Dischord put out a handful of years back. An excellent album that should be checked out and enjoyed.



5. Faraquet – The View from this Tower

The View from this Tower is a record that breaks convention on how music should be played. Math rock as it should be. Plenty of starts and stops, time signatures changing mid track.



4. Fugazi – Repeater

I’ve mention before that Repeater is the Fugazi record I listen to most. Great songs from probably the most recognizable DC band.



3. Rites of Spring – End on End

While Rites of Spring was another short-lived band, they managed to produce one of the best DC punk records. End on End didn’t fall into the hardcore stylings that were happening in 84/85 but played a different brand of punk rock. You can hear what Guy Picciotto would bring to Fugazi on End on End.



2. Frodus – And We Washed Our Weapons at Sea

And We Washed Our Weapons at Sea was Frodus’ posthumous swan song and by far their greatest musical accomplishment. While leaving some of their chaotic counterparts behind them, they produced a beautiful post-hardcore album, with killer melodies and great bass line after great bass line.



1. Jawbox – For Your Own Special Sweetheart

Jawbox’s major label debut didn’t change their post-hardcore fury. For Your Own Special Sweetheart established Jawbox as an underground favorite and made them DC legends.

Social Distortion - Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes

It’s very unpunk of me to admit this but I’ve never really gotten into Social Distortion. I own and love their 1990 self-titled album but other then that, nothing. So context for Social D is an album that’s 21 years old. But I’ve listened to Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes constantly since Tuesday.

The album starts with Road Zombie, a pseudo Rock-a-Billy instrumental track. It’s a great track and a nice start to the record. And while it’s a nice album, and the songs on Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes are solid, it’s honestly a little boring.

While each song on its own is nice and enjoyable, as an album it doesn’t flow in any way that’s interesting to listen to. Each song blends into the next, each sounding like the track before it and I’m always surprised when the album ends.

Overall Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes has a nice bluesy tone to it, full of ballads. Only Machine Gun Blues and Alone and Forsaken have any punk attitude, the rest of the album relying on sentimental and reflective ballads to carry the record. The other moments that aren’t ballads (California Hustle, Can’t Take it With You) are rooted in deep southern blues/gospel/rock.

And while I think each song is good, either the way the album is constructed or just the fact that there isn’t a lot of diversity happening track to track, really bores me. Is Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes just a case of poor track order, probably. Good songs but I feel like this album could be better.

Over the Rhine - The Long Surrender

Over the Rhine are a staple of the indie folk scene. Their long career features some amazing albums (Ohio, Good Dog Bad Dog, Drunkards Prayer). You always know what you’re getting with OTR; soulful music with a lot of heart. Karin Bergquist’s smoky vocals are always delivered perfectly.

So it’s no surprise that their latest, The Long Surrender, is another beautiful record.

The Long Surrender, as most OTR albums are, is a nice mix of mild alt-country/folk and dark night club soul. While it’s not groundbreaking or something we haven’t heard from Over the Rhine before, I’d imagine fans would be disappointed if the band changed styles drastically.

Rave On is a song where Karin vocals teeter on the edge of completely letting go as she sings “Rock On”. The music builds to no crescendo, leaving the listener waiting in anxious anticipation for an explosion that never comes.

The record moves from quiet piano led songs, to a full band alt-country jam, to an acoustic guitar, to Karin belting out the most soulful songs you’ll hear. While at times it’s a cluttered mess of styles song to song, you aren’t bored listening to it. And while I wish there was more piano driver soul songs, nothing on Long Surrender is bad.

From a lyrical standpoint, The Long Surrender is a combo of sweet love songs and honest lyrics about the need for grace and forgiveness.

The Long Surrender is another good album for a band that has always put out great music.