The All-American Rejects - Kids in the Street





For me, the All-American Rejects are walking around the beach listening to 'The Last Song' and 'Swing Swing' on my first iPod. Their whole teenage powerpop thing never wholly translated this side of the Atlantic in the same way that, say, Fall Out Boy, 30 Seconds to Mars or My Chemical Romance did. Stateside, though, they've only grown and grown in pop success - culminating in the #4 Billboard position for Gives You Hell from their 2009 album, When the World Comes Down. Working this time around with Greg Wells - the man who produced Katy Perry's career-high Waking Up in Vegas, OneRepublic's Apologize and Mika's 2007 debut album Life in Cartoon Motion, it'll be interesting to see how their forray into the popworld goes (at least musically, since statistically they've charted quite disappointingly - singles-wise at least).

Let's face it, with a face (and body... *contains myself*) like Tyson Ritter's, the band are going to continue to pluck at teenage heartstrings for some time to come.




With a distorted roar, 'Someday's Gone' opens the album and sees Ritter pondering "what makes you so damn sure you're worth it?" The song plods along pretty nicely and safely, with the solos at the ends of each chorus redeeming it. Single 'Beekeeper's Daughter' failed to impress initially but given about 5 or more listens it's rewarding. Trumpets and "ahh"s in the build-up to an understated chorus give it a Panic! at the Disco feel, but otherwise the whole thing smacks of bar-room singalong and it's quite infectious. Much more urgent is 'Fast & Slow', which falls a little too clumsily into the Neon Trees bracket with lazy rhymes and a relatively bland tune. The angst is turned up a notch though on 'Heartbeat Slowing Down' (I mean, it opens with "I still remember that empty look on your face"), with a nice synth-laden chorus and rasped vocals.

The opening to 'Walk Over Me' with a psychiatrist is a little bit kitsch but is quickly forgotten in a bit of a Status Quo revivalism. The riffs are short and fast, the rhythm bouncy, but once you draw the Status Quo comparison you can't take it seriously. Sure is catchy, though. They remove the daftness then for 'Out the Door', a slow paced builder that eventually turns into their blusteriest moment of the album. It's fine but a little conventional. There are shades of U2 (at least in the guitar effects) about the title track that give it some distinctiveness but again the track's largely undermined by the most generic lyrics imaginable ("We were dreamers, we were American graffiti scenes/ No war, no peace, no hopes, no dreams - just us").

Equally turgid ("I need you one last time") and bereft of any musical interest whatsoever is 'Bleed Into Your Mind', a leading candidate for 'Filler of the Year', surely. It's a bit of a shame that we come to expect those tracks of bands like AAR, because they are capable of some really endearing and promising moments. 'Gonzo', a track that might owe a little of its rhythm to U2's Where the Streets Have No Name, but is otherwise a strong synth-rock track that delivers their niche power-pop with aplomb. They do their best for a little strings-led ballad in 'Affection' that's again slightly let down by the lyrics, but the musical side of it is rather lovely. Closing track 'I For You' is similarly cute and twee and all things "omg luv u tyler!!! xD".

The record's not going to last long in the consciousness of most people, but if you fancy a little bit of angsty teen-rock (even despite the fact the band are increasingly near their 30s) the album definitely delivers.

Rating: 6/10
Highlights: Gonzo, Heartbeat Slowing Down, Beekeeper's Daughter
Avoid: Bleed Into Your Mind, Fast & Slow, Walk Over Me

Artwork Watch: I have no smart-arse comments for this. I quite like it.
Up next: Marilyn Manson

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues, a review

Image
In 2008 the Fleet Foxes launched onto the music scene with their eponymous debut, landing themselves #1 positions in end-of-year reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Times and Mojo. Their unique brand of baroque-fused folk struck a chord with many, and the time has now come for them to follow that success up. In May they will release 'Helplessness Blues', the title track for which they recently released as a free download. The opening track 'Montezuma' is a slow repeat of their signature sound - the version I have unfortunately riddled with a few technical glitches - a minimalist and pensive reflection on life and impending death. In dirth or in excess /Both the slave and the empress/ Will return to the dirt I guess/ Naked as when they came. There's a slight rockabilly tune to 'Bedouin Dress', a slight threat to Robin's claim that the record will be "less poppy, less upbeat and more groove-based". The groove is certainly here, a Garfunkelia
Read more

Neon Trees - Picture Show

Image
The only other time I've seen another person acknowledge the existence of Neon Trees was when a pair of Americans came to stay with my next-door neighbours. Over here they've made almost no impression at all, but Stateside the band have tapped into an unusual fanbase. Their vocal twangs might scream Tyson Ritter (All-American Rejects) but their sound is a whole lot less pop-punk. In fact, pop might be a more succinct label. Their 2010 debut album Habits might've failed to wow critics but with the aid of monstrously-catchy hit (#13) single Animal they established a pretty solid fanbase. Sure enough it was just a collection of catchy pop songs, but they are Mormons. Expecting soul from them is too much, right? Predictably, their opener 'Moving in the Dark' heads straight for the stockpile sounds - a church organ and a 1985 synth give them their foot-tapping kickstart. Innocently spouting lyrics like "Live fast, it's a feeling not an art"
Read more

Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart

Image
"Dr Luke is kind of at the helm of American pop music and, in the beginning, I felt really excluded from that world. I was like, “Everything sounds the same; I don’t ever want to do that.” Then Katy Perry’s people asked if I wanted to support her in America. I bought her album and I was like, “This is actually really good.” Then I bought Ke$ha’s and obviously I had Britney’s LPs already. Slowly, I changed my perspective. If you’re in a club, you don’t necessarily want to be listening to super-meaningful music, but it doesn’t take the value away from it." The idea of personas and characters in pop music predates Marina Diamandis' birth. Today, though, there are increasing signs that the ability to reinvent one's image in the most commercial sense is a cheap excuse to sell out and aim for chart stardom. Diamandis, achieving somewhat lukewarm praise for her debut record The Family Jewels despite being a collection of excellent new wave pop songs, has thus
Read more