Para Toda Vida

(Vagrant)

It seems to be getting harder to come up with original material when a person is sharing his time between two different bands. Para Toda Vida is the new album by Get Up Kids' front man Mathew Pryor, and it is not too terribly creative in the acoustic emo genre. It is hard to tell whether Pryor was in a rush to put out another album or was just bored and decided to release some half-thought-out songs on an album.

The lyrical stories are a bit contrived on many of the songs on the album. There are six or seven pretty good songs, with about three that seem like a musical afterthought. There is also a significant drop in harmonizing vocals and backup instruments, which helped the Amsterdams' first album flow together.

The premise is the same as Pryor's last album: man with guitar, man plays guitar and tells stories. The only difference is that Pryor almost seems distracted on this record. There is more recording production than musical content on this Para Toda Vida.

One track stands out on the record. "All Ears" contains more emotion and musical brightness than any other song but it is only a quick glimpse at the musical genius Pryor is and can be when his heart is in his music.

Maybe getting back out on the road again will help spur some lyrical gems for this artist, but for now this album is a gold mine gone dry. Clocking in at just less than 30 minutes, the CD leaves the listener waiting for something more and only finding the deafening silence waiting.