Move Along (Digital Album)

by

The All-American Rejects

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On their second album, The All-American Rejects continue to forge the power-rock they started with their debut in 2003. Their greatest strength is their driving beats and extra-large guitar chops. At 42 minutes in length, it feels more like 21. However, the band has always had issues with sounding like Green Day or Blink 182, and that is still evident with their sophomore release. This band will have to try harder to individuate themselves from the rest of the pack if they plan on surviving the fickle music business and predominantly teenage audiences that buy their music.

There are glimpses of that individuality with the title song, perhaps the best song on the disc, "Move Along". It's anti-suicide theme set against a trippy drum pattern replete with a children's choir. One of the other stand out tracks, "Night Drive", sounds like the Bay City Rollers 1976 hit "Saturday Night" in terms of its beat. The band attempts a few power ballads in the form of "It Ends Tonight" and "Straitjacket Feeling" along with the final track "Can't Take It". Their success is varied, with "It Ends Tonight" being the best of the three. Elsewhere, "Dance Inside" begins with some great vocals, but then shifts gears into standard rock fare.

Overall, for a band that is still associated with their original hit "Swing, Swing" from their debut. The All-American Rejects continue to put out strong power pop-rock music when most artists are churning out bland top 40 drivel. I noticed that the band jumped record labels from Dreamworks to Interscope, which is usually a bad sign for a band, but hopefully Interscope will realize the potential of this band and encourage them to try new musical directions and expand as artists.

This cd is pretty good. Most of the songs you can listen to over and over and they never get old. I had to only give this album 3 stars because I did not like the last three songs, they seemed like filler.

1. Dirty Little Secret: Great first track. Kinda punk. Love it. 10/10

2. Stab My Back: Great guitar. The lyrics are a little simple though. 8/10

3. Move Along: overplayed but still a good song. I love the verses. 8/10

4. It Ends Tonight: Good rock ballad but I don't like it as a single. 7/10

5. Change Your Mind: Catchy. 7/10

6. Night Drive: My favorite on the album! Even better in concert. 10/10

7. 11:11PM: Nice chorus. Takes a while to catch on. 7/10

8. Dance Inside: Okay, but not one of my favorites. 6/10

9. Top of the World: It has a nice beat to it. Just okay though. 7/10

I usually skip the last three songs...