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07/09/08, 07:10 PM
All Time Low - So Wrong, It’s Right
Record Label: Hopeless Records
Release Date: September 25, 2007
Clothing company sponsors and screaming 14-year olds aside, All Time Low is a pop-punk band. And it shows: their first full-length, So Wrong, It’s Right[/I}, is 40+ minutes of catchy riffs, fast-paced rock and gang background vocals.
Kicking off with “This Is How We Do,” All Time Low draws heavy influence from bands like New Found Glory and blink-182. The opener’s rapid guitars and soaring vocals set the tone for the rest of the twelve-song record. Singles “Dear Maria, Count Me In” and “Six Feet Under the Stars” are stellar, and the cough preceding a sample of the quartet's staple guitar riffs at the beginning of “Dear Maria” makes for a creative beginning. No song really stands out as the worst, because they all sound the same; they’re all mildly enjoyable, but containing nothing particularly striking. However, “Let It Roll,” the second track and an easy sing-a-long, quickly grew irritating. Call me cynical, but the happy-go-lucky chorus was grinding and repetitive.
Automatic Loveletter’s Juliet Simms joins vocalist Alex Gaskarth on “Remembering Sunday,” an acoustic love-lost number. A die hard fan may enjoy the slowed-down aspect of the song and Gaskarth’s forlorn vocals, but another listener could cringe at the melodramatic lyrics matched with Simms’ howling guest vocals.
While it’s bubbly and catchy, [I]So Wrong, It’s Right is fairly generic. “The Beach,” “Shameless,” and “Vegas” showcase its lack of originality with lyrics like “My friends are a different breed / My friends are everything.” The record itself is not a bad one: it’s an enjoyable romp dedicated to having fun. Working with pop-punk royalty Mark Hoppus on their second album will probably keep their sound in a similar vein, but hopefully boost their creative juices.
New Found Glory, pop punk, Fall Out Boy
myspace.com/alltimelow (http://www.myspace.com/alltimelow)
Record Label: Hopeless Records
Release Date: September 25, 2007
Clothing company sponsors and screaming 14-year olds aside, All Time Low is a pop-punk band. And it shows: their first full-length, So Wrong, It’s Right[/I}, is 40+ minutes of catchy riffs, fast-paced rock and gang background vocals.
Kicking off with “This Is How We Do,” All Time Low draws heavy influence from bands like New Found Glory and blink-182. The opener’s rapid guitars and soaring vocals set the tone for the rest of the twelve-song record. Singles “Dear Maria, Count Me In” and “Six Feet Under the Stars” are stellar, and the cough preceding a sample of the quartet's staple guitar riffs at the beginning of “Dear Maria” makes for a creative beginning. No song really stands out as the worst, because they all sound the same; they’re all mildly enjoyable, but containing nothing particularly striking. However, “Let It Roll,” the second track and an easy sing-a-long, quickly grew irritating. Call me cynical, but the happy-go-lucky chorus was grinding and repetitive.
Automatic Loveletter’s Juliet Simms joins vocalist Alex Gaskarth on “Remembering Sunday,” an acoustic love-lost number. A die hard fan may enjoy the slowed-down aspect of the song and Gaskarth’s forlorn vocals, but another listener could cringe at the melodramatic lyrics matched with Simms’ howling guest vocals.
While it’s bubbly and catchy, [I]So Wrong, It’s Right is fairly generic. “The Beach,” “Shameless,” and “Vegas” showcase its lack of originality with lyrics like “My friends are a different breed / My friends are everything.” The record itself is not a bad one: it’s an enjoyable romp dedicated to having fun. Working with pop-punk royalty Mark Hoppus on their second album will probably keep their sound in a similar vein, but hopefully boost their creative juices.
New Found Glory, pop punk, Fall Out Boy
myspace.com/alltimelow (http://www.myspace.com/alltimelow)