Album review: The Get Up Kids – ‘Problems’

When a band still exists and has a following over 20 years since its inception without any significant drama or member changes, they’re doing something right. Such is the case for Kansas City Missouri’s favorite sons The Get Up Kids who are set to release their sixth full-length album entitled Problems via Polyvinyl Records on May 10, 2019.

Listening to Problems is kind of like returning to the town you grew up in two decades later. Everything is the same, but different. Familiar, but distinct. Longtime devotees of the band will be thankful that Problems is not the same The Get Up Kids record a sixth time over, while at the same time the 12-track collection maintains the bands’ unique charm.

“The Advocate” is the album highlight as its upbeat, driving riff is hypnotic and stays with the listener long after the conclusion of the song. “Waking Up Alone,” which immediately follows, keeps up the energy with its electronic feel and is a close runner-up for the album’s best track.