''Problems'' is the sixth studio album by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
the Get Up Kids
The Get Up Kids are an American rock band from Olathe, Kansas. Formed in 1995, the band was a major player in the mid-1990s Midwest emo scene, otherwise known as the " second wave" of emo music. Their second album ''Something to Write Home About' ...
, their first full-length with
Polyvinyl Records
In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Examples
Vinyl polymers ar ...
. It is their final release to feature keyboardist James Dewees before his departure in 2019.
Writing & Production
After the band's self-released reunion album ''
There Are Rules
''There Are Rules'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Get Up Kids, the band's first studio album release since 2004's '' Guilt Show''. After their initial reunion, the band decided to challenge themselves to write and record an ...
'' largely failed to find an audience, the members of the Get Up Kids took another short hiatus working non-music industry jobs,
interrupted only by brief weekend tours and one-off shows. While drinking at a bar before their performance at the 2017
When We Were Young festival, the band began to talk about recommitting to the Get Up Kids as a full-time pursuit.
''Problems'' was recorded at Tarquin Studios in
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...
over 19 days in September 2018, reuniting with
Peter Katis
Peter Katis is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer, audio engineer, mixer, and musician.
Katis is best known for working with alternative and indie rock bands. He works primarily out of his own residential studio, Tarquin Studios, ...
-- who mixed the band's divisive 2002 album ''
On a Wire
''On a Wire'' is the third studio album by American rock band The Get Up Kids on Vagrant Records. Released three years after their breakout sophomore album '' Something to Write Home About'', ''On a Wire'' was a massive departure from the band's e ...
'' -- who produced alongside the band. It marked the first time the band had worked with Katis since he found mainstream success producing bands like
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
and
The National.
Additional recording was done by Greg Giorgio, Kurt Leon, Tim Walsh, Justin Hunt, and the band. Katis mixed the album, before Greg Calbi mastered it at Sterling Sound.
[
Speaking of the album's themes in 2021, Matt Pryor said "There's always been a lot of reflection in our lyrics, this one in particular though is coming from a place of being reflective in your 40's and having a lot more knowledge of what works for you, and what doesn't work for you, and what your limitations are."] The band started to draw from different influences. Pryor "got really into XTC and finally started to understand Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
, who the rest of the band adores but I never really got until recently."
The feelings of being stuck, unhappy or full of self-doubt don’t go away when you get older — they evolve. They concentrate on more specific things. When you’re younger everything’s absolute. This person is good, and that person is bad. As you gain life experience you realize it’s significantly more complicated than that, but the feelings are still there. Essentially, it’s just as easy to feel like you’re lost in a sea of insanity when you’re 41 as it is when you’re 14.
Reception
The album was largely well-reviewed, with critics hailing it as a return to form. Writing for Punknews.org, Julie River praised the album, calling The Problem is Me "one of the bounciest, catchiest pop songs that The Get Up Kids have ever put out," and favorably compares Your Ghost is Gone to the closing tracks of the band's first two albums. Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
was equally glowing, saying that " roblemssounds just as great as some of their older albums, reminding us why this band are (sic) still one of the greatest emo/alternative acts to come out of the '90s."
Under the Radar was more mixed, with critic Adam Turner-Heffer writing that "Problems is an altogether solid enough and enjoyable listen, it merely fails to push beyond being an impression of the band’s former glories."
Track listing
All songs written by the Get Up Kids.[
]
Chart performance
Personnel
Personnel per booklet.
The Get Up Kids
* Matt Pryor – vocals, guitar, piano
* Jim Suptic
Jim Suptic (born October 14, 1977) is an American musician and entrepreneur, best known for being the guitarist for the rock band The Get Up Kids.
Career
The Get Up Kids
Jim Suptic is best known for being the guitarist and sometime lead singer ...
– vocals, guitar
* Ryan Pope
Ryan Pope is an American musician who lives in Lawrence, Kansas.
History
Ryan Pope grew up in Olathe, Kansas. In the summer of 1994, he was in a band called "Kingpin" with his brother Rob and future The Get Up Kids bandmate Jim Suptic. After ...
– drums
* Rob Pope
Robert Pope is an American musician, best known as the bassist for Spoon and The Get Up Kids.
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 band ...
– bass
* James Dewees
James Matthew Dewees (born March 13, 1976) is an American musician best known for his work with The Get Up Kids, Reggie and the Full Effect and My Chemical Romance. He has also been involved in other musical projects including New Found Glory, Co ...
– keyboards, vocals
Additional musicians
* Kori Gardener – additional vocals (track 7)
Production and design
* Peter Katis
Peter Katis is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer, audio engineer, mixer, and musician.
Katis is best known for working with alternative and indie rock bands. He works primarily out of his own residential studio, Tarquin Studios, ...
– producer, recording, mixing
* The Get Up Kids – producer, additional recording
* Greg Giorgio – additional recording
* Kurt Leon – additional recording
* Tim Walsh – additional recording
* Justin Hunt – additional recording
* Greg Calbi – mastering
* Pocket Studio Creative – design, Layout
* Rob Pope – cover photo
* Lindsay Pope – back photo
* The Springfield Science Museum – flamingo diorama
References
{{Authority control
2019 albums
The Get Up Kids albums
Polyvinyl Record Co. albums