You’ll have to bear with me, I have a handful of hardcore CDs I have to review in order to get them out of my mp3 player, the first of which is Buffalo, NY’s, contemporary hardcore act, Get Back Up and their 9 track ‘full length’ debut. And like the album, this review will be short and to the point.
Culling from most of today’s more recognized contemporary hardcore like Comeback Kid, Passion, Dead Hearts and such, Get Back Up ply a form of energetic, melodic and passionate hardcore that’s actually a welcome break from the array of noisy, caustic, discordance that seems to be the trend in hardcore nowadays. Mixed with a little NYHC (i.e. gang, chants, power chords and such), the 9 tracks breeze by in a brief torrent of galloping, simple bursts and hoarse shouts.
To their credit, the tracks are not the usual anthems of unity, brotherhood and clichéd scene antics, but more personal, real world issues, as tracks like “Years Away”, “The Only Thing Worse”, “An Escape”, “No Bravery”, “An Empty Sky” and “Reunion” blaze by in a moderately uplifting and honest display of modern hardcore that feels somewhat refreshing in the sea of angry, tough guy, beat down driven hardcore that’s filling the scene. A couple of slower tracks like “Cell 5158” and “Your Departure” bare the band’s soul even more and show hardcore can be about more than straight edge rage and machismo.
