Rockpile Magazine Review by Reed Jackson:: March 2003

The second track on this linty navel-gazer calls itself “I Know You’ll Find Out I’m a Geek,” but the band doesn’t exactly cloak its geek status very well. Naming their band after a code for extra lives in the classic Nintendo game Contra is a pretty big tip-off. Writing songs about fixing your bike and failing to resemble your father only sends the geekdar into major overload. And perhaps it’s because my own wallflower days aren’t too far behind me, but something about And Nothing is #1 Really agrees with me. Employing a bluff and nimble approach belying the childlike themes found in its lyrics, Up Up unravels a sound both thoughtful and visceral, knotty and melodic. With so many kids turning to the whiny pop-punk (pounk) cash cow, it’s refreshing to see people unafraid of unusual time signatures and shifting rhythms, while still crossing the reflective moping item out of the to-do list in their diary. Post-collegiate geezers who warmly recall late ‘90s midwest, don a tight sweater and show respect.