There Are Rules
by The Get Up Kids
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
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  1. dothevampire
    Mar 22, 2011
    8
    The Get Up Kids grew up, with that came excellent song structure, writing, and lyrics with more depth than their previous albums (yea! a band who grows!! WEE!). These are quirky dark pop songs that you can't get out of your head (Automatic, When it Dies). If you're looking for a copy cat album of S.T.W.H.A. then find a time machine or download all the carbon copy bands of 1999. This albumThe Get Up Kids grew up, with that came excellent song structure, writing, and lyrics with more depth than their previous albums (yea! a band who grows!! WEE!). These are quirky dark pop songs that you can't get out of your head (Automatic, When it Dies). If you're looking for a copy cat album of S.T.W.H.A. then find a time machine or download all the carbon copy bands of 1999. This album really showcases the Pope brothers playing ability, they are a solid duo on bass and drums and it becomes apparent even more on this album. I highly recommend this album and their E.P. Simple Science which has 3 other tracks that are definitely note worth for their catalog (1 track, keith case shows up on the full length).… Expand
  2. rwiggum
    Feb 4, 2011
    10
    For some reason, every time The Get Up Kids release a new album, people are surprised that it doesn't sound like Something to Write Home About. Maybe that was understandable in 2002, back when On a Wire made the shift from energetic power pop to a more alternative sound, but now more than ten years on from the release of the band's seminal 90's album, there isn't really an excuse. Now fiveFor some reason, every time The Get Up Kids release a new album, people are surprised that it doesn't sound like Something to Write Home About. Maybe that was understandable in 2002, back when On a Wire made the shift from energetic power pop to a more alternative sound, but now more than ten years on from the release of the band's seminal 90's album, there isn't really an excuse. Now five albums in, no two Get Up Kids records have sounded the same, while at the same time always sounding like a "Get Up Kids album."

    So when I say that There Are Rules is likely the best thing the band has put out to this point, don't take that to mean that it's any kind of return to Something to Write Home About. I never imagined I'd be thankful for the band's dissolution in 2005, but clearly the three years apart working on vastly different musical projects (Spoon, The New Amsterdams, Blackpool Lights, Reggie and the Full Effect) has grown each of them as musicians. The result is a band that sounds like it's having fun again, in a way that hasn't come through this loudly since Four Minute Mile. It's wildly experimental at times, but it never stops being a Get Up Kids album.

    In all reality, the Get Up Kids are the best of the "high school bands," because they're the one that grows with you. It's depressing to see bands like the Ataris making a desperate return to their old sound after fans rejected the wildly different (but promising) "Welcome the Night." Nobody wants to see guys in their late-30's trying desperately to sound like they did in their early twenties so kids in high school will like them again.

    Thankfully, there's nothing desperate about "There Are Rules." If anything, it's openly defiant. The album closer, "Rememorable," reads as pre-written response to their detractors, ending with a simple decree: "You've got it all so wrong/Why don't you go away?"    … Expand
  3. j-mack
    Jan 28, 2011
    7
    Give this record a chance and don't expect it to sound like any of their previous releases. It is more keyboard driven than their previous releases. It has more of a "bratty" sound as the review on Spin.com states. I also found it to sound a bit more "cold" than some of their other stuff. I think that is due to the heavy synths and effects that have been put on the songs. Many of theGive this record a chance and don't expect it to sound like any of their previous releases. It is more keyboard driven than their previous releases. It has more of a "bratty" sound as the review on Spin.com states. I also found it to sound a bit more "cold" than some of their other stuff. I think that is due to the heavy synths and effects that have been put on the songs. Many of the songs are not as immediately catchy or accessible as "Something to Write Home About" (which seams to be their golden standard to compare all others to). With that being said, it has grown on me and is a pretty good record. It is appropriate record for a band whose sound has matured over the years. Buy it and support them since it is self-released!… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. AllMusic
    Dec 7, 2011
    80
    On There Are Rules, the Get Up Kids never sound like they're trying to relearn how to do what they do: they manage the deceptively difficult trick of evolving without turning into something else, and they've made a powerful, engaging album that's worthy of their legacy.
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  2. Q Magazine
    May 2, 2011
    60
    Their fifth long-player finds them back at their corrosive best. [Apr 2011, p.102]
  3. Mojo
    Apr 22, 2011
    60
    Nothing here feels contrived. Instead we witness a rare thing: an inherently youthful band gracefully making good into their thirties. [Apr 2011, p.106]
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