GET UP KIDS

““The Get Up Kids are historically good at making EPs… [Kicker] finds the band setting new, grown-up concerns about marriage and family life to the kind of upbeat and melodically assured guitar music that they’ve always been known for.” - The FADER

“A step forward” ”

— The AV Club

The Get Up Kids’ anticipated new Kicker EP - - their first release in seven years and debut for Polyvinyl Record Co. -- is out today worldwide. The EP was named one of June’s “most anticipated” releases by The AV Club and Pitchfork , and the band recently spoke with The FADER , Consequence of Sound , and Washed Up Emo , about their long-awaited return. The band -- Matt Pryor (guitars/vocals), Jim Suptic (guitars/vocals), Rob Pope (bass), Ryan Pope (drums), and James Dewees (keys) -- begin a headlining U.S. tour on June 14th in Dallas, TX, with sold out shows in San Diego, CA, Los Angeles, CA, and Portland, OR. A full itinerary is listed below. The band recently shared the music video for new single “Better This Way” and lead single “ Maybe ,” which SPIN called, "a proper statement of reemergence from one of the most enduring bands to emerge of the early-aughts."

Since the release of 2011’s There Are Rules LP, the band have been touring when their schedules permit, and living very adult lives that include activities like raising kids (Matt, Rob, Jim), moving away (James) and moving back (Ryan), starting businesses (Ryan), getting a degree in geology (Jim), joining a local kickball league (Matt), accidentally being electrocuted on stage (Rob), or simply struggling with social media.

Correspondingly while the band’s early releases were written while the band members were entering their twenties, Kicker sees them in their forties, and the songs show a perspective that can only be learned from experience. The Get Up Kids have never been afraid to try something new, but the songs here -- recorded over the course of the last year at Fire and Ice studio in Baldwin, Kansas -- mark a full-circle breakthrough for the band. Upbeat opener “Maybe” reintroduces The Get Up Kids in spectacular fashion with fuzzed-out guitars, chiming keyboards, and Pryor's distinctive cadence singing about the relational dynamics he's learned over time.

Maybe is the first track of off their new E.P!

Early praise for the Kicker EP:

“Songs like “Maybe” and “I’m Sorry” express regret over bad choices and paths not pursued, but there’s no sense of resignation in the lyrics or guitar licks. The Moog accents are now fist pumps, and the chanting choruses edge close to stadium rock. ”

— The AV Club

“A proper statement of reemergence from one of the most enduring bands to emerge of the early-aughts rock club scene… [“Maybe”] sounds like golden-era TGUK, with Pryor pushing his vocals to familiar heights.”

— SPIN

“I was floored when I listened to the first track “maybe” off of their new E.P Kicker. I felt like I was taken back to when I first heard The Get up Kids but with a more age defined and experienced sound. I am glad to see them putting this E.P out and bringing back the sound that drove a generation.”

— Chris Sturk | f2.8 Music photography