Album Review: The All-American Rejects - When The World Comes Down
I’m going to preface this review with my past experiences with The All-American Rejects to give an idea of how much I was looking forward to this record. The Oklahoma band’s self-titled album played as a soundtrack to my middle school years. “Swing, Swing” was one of the first songs I put on a mix CD for a girl and “The Last Song” was the first one I used to break up with someone. Back then, all I wanted was a power pop album to sing along with while playing spin-the-bottle and that’s exactly what The All-American Rejects’ are good at. Their sophomore effort, Move Along, “kicked it up a notch”, to borrow from Emeril, with heavier electric guitars (as heavy as pop punk can get) and bigger sounding drums. That notch was enough for me to leave that album in my car for a solid three months. The same mix of love songs and breakup songs were there and it came out just in time for me to dedicate “Dirty Little Secret” to an ex-girlfriend. Again, I wasn’t expecting anything more than a few pop songs about girls to soundtrack road trips and the occasional backseat endeavor.
Fast-forward another three years and When The World Comes Down is released after a three year wait: 2008. Now that I’m a sophomore in college, I’d like to think that I’ve grown up a bit since “Swing Swing” first made its way onto my iPod. Unfortunately for Tyson Ritter and the gang, well, they didn’t. This record is the same old song and dance, songs about girls. Some are spiteful (”Gives You Hell” & “Breakin’”) while some are hopeful, (”I Wanna” & “Back To Me”) and none of them are impressive.
Maybe it’s my fault for expecting them to have matured at the ripe age of 28 or maybe it’s theirs for sticking with such elementary lyrics. With “Gives You Hell” released as the first single, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth, or ears rather. Even so, I was hoping there would be a little substance on the record but unfortunately, it’s slim pickings.
The album starts with “I Wanna”, and with clever lyrics like, “I wanna touch you, you wanna touch me too,” so it’s clear they’re still targeting the pre-teens. That track immediately turned me off to the rest of the album, making it difficult to listen through the whole album before writing a review. The first song to get close to what I expected for this album was “Real World”. The dark instrumentation stands out among the rest of the tracks.
After setting high expectations for this album, I found it incredibly hard to listen to, making for a painful three weeks while trying to finish this review. In the end, a few tracks grew on me (”Gives You Hell” & “Real World”) but only after repeated listens. If I didn’t have to write this review, I would have deleted the entire album after only a single listen through. I wish I were able to write a more thorough and in depth review of When The World Comes Down. However, Tyson Ritter said it best in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “The new album is something you’ve never heard before”…and it’s something I never want to hear again.
Rating: 
Check Out:
I decided I finally had to read this much discussed post. Overall, I think it is some of your better writing (technically). However, I have to agree with Tom. “Another Heart Calls” is a definite progression for The All-American Rejects, both lyrically and otherwise. The addition of The Pierces on the track adds quite a bit, and I believe it marks the first duet for the band.
As for the record being the “same old song and dance,” what is wrong with having a signature sound of sorts? Do you fault Rivers Cuomo for writing about the same thing year after year? Granted, Weezer is a far superior band to The All-American Rejects. However, am I actually expected to believe there is a large amount of merit behind Cuomo continuing to sing about essentially being a broke-nerd who can’t get the girl? Yet I can understand it’s his niche, much like Tyson Ritter seems to have his niche. Just some food for thought . . .
I really like this album, not as much as Move Along, but still its a good album. My children like it too!
im 14
i never thought of it that way. When i heard the song “gives u hell” i LOVED it but now u sed that is sounds different =(
tracks 5-8 are easily the best tracks, I got into TAAR in 2002, and quickly write off bands that completely lose all of their luster, and those 4 songs are the ones that give me hope for the future, so try giving them a try and see if you can re-connect with them like I was able to
All music is an interpretation my friend. I really do appreciate the feedback though, I’ll give it another listen.
You must not have listened closely enough to notice that, “Another Heart Calls” put them to a new maturity level. It was a great duet and “Damn Girl” sounds like a great Move Along anthemn. This album was nothing like their first 2 but it is still fairly good and better than most bands can do nowadays. Also, I would like to point out your idiocy. “The Last Song” is not infact about breakups or girls AT ALL. It is about graduating.
first off, i’m 29 and i visit your page daily. never knew you were in college. secondly, i also have great memories of the first two albums (mainly the first though) and i am really disappointed with this new album. indeed its nothing great.
I do love the single, but then again, I’m a sucker for lame pop rock, too. Much to Keil’s credit, I think bands like this need to step up their game in this market. They can’t rely just on hooks alone. A perfect example of a band in this similar genre “doing it right” is Panic! at the Disco’s album last year. That’s a pretty ambitious and earnest record in a genre that typically, well, isn’t.
interesting take on the album. maybe your expectations were too high? I’ve only casually listened to AAR for about a year, so without any nostalgia or expectations driving my opinion, i actually find this a step up in the songwriting department. maybe not lyrically, but musically, it improves on that poppy catchiness factor that’s a nice change from most of the stuff i normally listen to. I can blast Gives You Hell all day, especially those kooky gang vocals that give the Move Along childrens choir a run for their money. I really don’t look for anything too groundbreaking from bands like these. Sometimes more of the same is ok, and in this case, they delivered.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
[...] Rejects are currently on tour supporting their third record, last year’s Billboard-breaking, When the World Comes Down. Some might scoff at the band as of late, but fans still eat up the catchy, incessant pop-rock. [...]