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All Time Low
"So Wrong, It’s Right" Review (3/5)

So the Maryland pop act is back with their newest efforts since last July’s Put Up or Shut Up EP. All Time Low has grown in popularity, taking over tours and magazines one day at a time. Alternative Press has even given the group a spot in Alt’s “Bands You Need to Know in '07”. After an album and two EPs, All Time Low releases their third album So Wrong, It’s Right on September 25^th via Hopeless Records. Producer Matt Squire has taken the reins on this disc. Matt has produced albums which have hit Billboard charts in the past, but this could be a different story.

At first glance, the wild neon colors and buildings in the background make the album art look like a page out of a Mae CD booklet. It’s nothing too different from their last EP, but the art concept gives the album a party feel. The intro track, “This Is How We Do” is energetic with constant chanting in its chorus. The song is based on the old school pop-punk blueprint including a guitar fading bass solo in the second verse. It makes the old Drive-Thru fans proud. The following track “Let It Roll” takes a page out of their The Party Scene LP. The high octave guitar intro and lyrics reminiscing the days of any suburban kids youth, would make anyone want to re-live their house party days.

The first few tracks of the album are infectious and keep up in its fast feet tapping fashion. Every chorus melody is original but its lyrics could be argued a rip-off. It seems like a lot of these lyrical ideas could have been easily taken from a Cartel song or an early The Academy Is track. “Holly (Would You Turn Me On)” is an example of good melody with bad lyrical content. By the time “Dear Maria, Count Me In” hits the speakers, one could exhale safely. “Holly” sort of sinks the albums moral a bit, but “The Beach” is a pain to get through, such a Laguna Beach song (no pun intended). “Dear Maria…” is catchy and gives faith back into the album. By this time, the album is midway complete.

The rest of the album is enjoyable. Sadly, each track after “Shameless” requires multiple listens. Their last EP would never ask its listeners to replay a song in order to begin catching on. That was a disappointment. Alex Gaskarth’s yelling and Jack Barakat’s back up vocals carry the rest of this album. These two guys make All Time Low. The best track on the second half of this album would be “Vegas”. And that’s not saying much.

If Hit The Lights were still around, they would have definitely taken New Found Glory’s place in the pop world. And All Time Low? Well after Cartel’s bubble was popped, revealing that crappy album. All Time Low might be able to give the bubble boys a run for their money. It’ll come down to how well this album is marketed. Put Up or Shut Up easily stood on its own as a great record only having seven songs. So Wrong, It’s Right has twelve songs and doesn’t even add up to the energy on Put Up or Shut Up. A word to the wise: iTunes has the ability to purchase songs separately. That would be a wise decision.