Pitchfork is in the 'links' section for this blog. I personally find that unfortunate because I have had the displeasure of reading the Pitchfork review of Something to Write Home About by The Get Up Kids. Pitchfork derided the album pretty much only for being unpretentious, saccharine pop rock. They horribly overanalyzed the cover art. Overall, the Pitchfork review is a mess of aimless insults by someone who was probably kicked out of art school. (Also note that Pitchfork is the same website that gave Sonic Youth's NYC Ghosts and Flowers a 0.0 and Wavves's Wavvves an 8.1)
The Get Up Kids is a pop-punk band. Their first release, Four Minute Mile, was a powerful pop rock album with second-wave emo influences and contrasts between full-on rockers like "Don't Hate Me" and more introverted, brooding numbers like "Better Half". It is personally one of my favorite albums and I suggest that everyone reading this buy or pirate a copy. After hearing Four Minute Mile I was immediately drawn to listen to Something to Write Home About. I already knew this album was considered a masterpiece and helped usher the emo genre into wider, mainstream focus, but I had never listened to it before. And I was thoroughly satisfied when I did hear it.
Don't be fooled; Something to Write Home About is, in fact, something to write home about. The first song, "Holiday," starts the album with punching drums, overdriven guitars, and a Moog synthesizer buzzing softly in the back. At first listen I was reminded of Pinkerton-era Weezer and the wonderful powerpop band Ozma. The next song, "Action and Action," is my personal favorite -- the Moog is more present, the verses are understated and the chorus fleshed out. Slower, toned down numbers such as "Valentine," "Out of Reach," and "I'll Catch You" add variety to the album. "I'm A Loner Dottie, A Rebel" showcases the band's second-wave emo inclinations.
This album is not avant-garde. This album is not groundbreaking, it is not pushing the boundaries of modern music, and it does not have overblown distortion or "tropical" overtones. But, it is perfect pop rock -- and for perfect pop rock, these kids did pretty damn good.
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