The All American Rejects (Digital Album)

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The All-American Rejects

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A few months ago, I heard "Swing, Swing" for the first time and knew I had to buy this album. Though I had never heard of the All-American Rejects before, the adept songwriting and melodic punk-pop sound of "Swing, Swing" somehow had me knowing (after only one listen) that this would be a great album.

My instincts were right. The All-American Rejects' debut simply cannot be rejected. Ever since I bought this CD a couple of months ago, it has been a regular spin on my CD player.

This album consists entirely of songs with memorable hooks, up-tempo rhythms, melodic punk-pop choruses, and infectious lyrics. The album has been well-produced, enhancing the overall packaging of each song. More importantly, it's remarkable that such a young band has demonstrated these sophisticated pop sensibilities in their songwriting. The album contains eleven laudable songs, each of which is a worthy listen in its own right. Lead singer Tyson Ritter never misses a note, even transitioning in and out of falsetto, and the band adroitly blends hard driving guitars with keyboards and even orchestral arrangements. What's not to like?

With this debut album, the All-American Rejects have demonstrated they have sharp musical senses. Their music compares favorably with any emo-type artist you hear on today's radio. Between the band's natural musical talent and its alignment with today's hottest commercial sound, it wouldn't surprise me to hear more from the All-American Rejects. This young band is poised to make it big.

I'll admit it: I love emo. So I had to give this many many listens before I could stand back and give it the proper distance needed for a fair review. Here goes..

The band deals lyrically in love songs: love dying, love unrequited, even starting over. The music TENDS to have somewhat of a samey sound to it (the problem pop-punk suffers from in general..) although not as much as others I've heard.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The single "Swing, Swing" is incandescent. It's almost impossible to get the darn thing out of your head once heard. "One More Sad Song"'s staccato vocal cadences also make it one that ensconces itself in your brain. "Too Far Gone" is as close as the band gets to balladry..making use of acoustic guitar and sweeping orchestral keyboard flourishes and perhaps one of the better lyrics of the disc ("Please speak slowly/My heart is learning/Teach me heartache/Stop this burning"). "Drive Away" finds our hero pining for a girl in a long-distance relationship but believing she'll give up the other guy.

LOWS:

Only one real dog in the batch comes with "Don't Leave Me". It makes use of a fairly painful drum machine pattern and a Yoda-esque lyric ("Thinking of things to you that I should say") that's obviously squished in to try and fit the song's rhythm where a shorter line (and more grammatically correct one to boot) would have been better.

BOTTOM LINE:

They haven't arrived, but they're on their way. We'll see what they do next time out. Fans of pop-punk will eat this up and power pop fans will probably also find some tunes to love here.

3 1/2 stars