You know 'em, you love 'em. The Get Up Kids are back after 3 years with another full length of original material. "On A Wire" is here. And the years show. The Get Up Kids' sound has aged well. This album is more sophisticated and mature than most of their previous work. This is classic Get Up Kids, but more so. Everything you like about the Get Up Kids is here, but taken deeper.
The star of this album is definitely the lead guitar. The solos here are amazing, taken straight off of an abandoned stretch of California highway. They have a wonderful classic rock feel. They sound like another voice, singing a beautiful and complementary counter-melody.
The GUK made a great choice in picking "Overdue" as their single. The moment the first notes of it hit my ears; I knew this would be a good album. Other highlights are the title track, "On A Wire" a dynamic and dramatic song with a driving drum beat, "Let the Reigns Go Loose" with the slightest touch of a country feel, and "Campfire Kansas" a song-story of a day on the river that I can't say enough good things about with some interesting vocal effects.
The lyrics here are pretty much your basic Get Up Kids stuff. No major standout stuff, besides "Campfire Kansas" and its vivid story-like descriptions. There do seem to be themes of abandonment, regret, loss, and broken homes. If I didn't know better, I'd almost think it was a concept album. There is also no lyric sheet in this CD; you'll have to go to thegetupkids.com for the words.
Speaking of packaging, the album art for "On A Wire" must be mentioned. Travis Millard did an amazing job with the album cover, as well as the inside of this unconventional packaging. There is also a theme of homes in the art, contributing to the concept album impression.
The only detractions are that the vocals can be grating at times, especially on the more mature, low-key songs. The nasally voice can clash with the music at times, but for the most part, he takes a more gentle road with the vocals.
B+
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis June 2002Reviewed by Matt ModrichThe Get Up Kids long-awaited follow-up to 1999's "Something to Write Home About" has seemed to be years in the making. However, those years appear to have radically changed the sound of the Vagrant Records band. It's so different that comparing bands to the GUK will never mean the same thing. It appears that the Kids have gone soft like The New Amsterdams, the side project of their singer Matthew…Similar sounding releases
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