The Get Up Kids today announced their first full-length album in eight years, Problems — produced by Grammy Award-winner Peter Katis (Kurt Vile, The National) — will be released May 10th, 2019 via Polyvinyl Record Co. The video for first single “Satellite” is out today. Problems is now available for pre-order HERE. The band also announced three shows at this year’s SXSW including the Polyvinyl Showcase at The Mohawk on March 13th and Brooklyn Bowl Family Reunion at Scoot Inn on March 14th. More shows will soon be announced.

“Satellite” opens on a stark arrangement of acoustic guitar and stripped-bare vocals, then bursts into brightly crashing rhythms and lyrics revealing the time-bending quality of The Get Up Kids’ songwriting. “I started writing ‘Satellite’ about my son who’s 14 and a total introvert—not antisocial, he just genuinely likes to keep to himself,” says guitarist/vocalist Matt Pryor. “But then somewhere down the line I started singing about myself—about how even when you’re playing a show to a room full of people, I can still feel anxious and isolated.” Director Kerstin Ebert explains, “The feeling of being isolated in a big city can be depressing. But instead of making this a sad story, I added a cardboard man named Hank to the storyline — a guy who lives like a normal human being amongst 8 million other people in New York City. Even though Hank’s adventurous ambitions as well as his facial expressions are very limited, he is the heart of the story and the biggest dreamer of all.”

Problems examines everything from life-changing loss to loneliness to the inevitable anxiety of existing in 2019. But by sustaining the essence of their sound—anthemic choruses with sing-along-ready melodies—The Get Up Kids highlight those troubles as a shared experience, giving way to an unbreakable solidarity. And at the heart of Problemsis an invaluable element the band’s embodied since their 1997 debut Four Minute Mile: a penetrating lyricism that’s both acutely introspective and indelibly resonant.

The follow-up to 2018’s acclaimed EP, Kicker, Problems came to life in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with the band — Matt Pryor, Jim Suptic (guitars/vocals), Rob Pope (bass), Ryan Pope (drums), and James Dewees (keys) — holing up together for a three-week span. Working with Katis, The Get Up Kids took a characteristically riff-driven yet decidedly pop-minded approach to song structure, while also allowing themselves a new sense of creative freedom.

The Get Up Kids At SXSW:

3/13 – Austin, TX – The Mohawk – Polyvinyl Record Co. / Double Double Whammy /Big Scary Monsters + Friends Showcase (11:45 PM)

3/14 – Austin, TX – W Hotel – Austin City Limits Radio Live Broadcast (9:00 AM)

3/14 – Austin, TX – Scoot Inn – Brooklyn Bowl Family Reunion (11:00 PM)

The Get Up Kids Tour Dates:

05/07 – Hamburg, Germany @ Markthalle #

05/08 – Eindhoven, Netherlands @ Dynamo #

05/09 – Antwerp, Belgium @ Zappa #

05/10 – Leipzig, Germany @ Conne Island #

05/11 – Munich, Germany @ Backstage #

05/13 – Bologna, Italy @ Locomotiv #

05/14 – Milan, Italy @ Magazzini Generali #

05/16 – Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz #

05/18 – Madrid, Spain @ Independance Club #

05/20 – Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie #

05/21 – Wiesbaden, Germany @ Schlachthof #

05/22 – Berlin, Germany @ SO36 #

05/23 – Cologne, Germany @ Luxor #

05/25 – Leeds, UK @ Slam Dunk Festival North

05/26 – Hatfield, UK @ Slam Dunk Festival South

# w/ Muncie Girls