Review Rough Draft

All Time Low, a pop punk band hailing from Baltimore, Maryland released their latest album, Nothing Personal in early July 2009. The album, finished with the help of other artists and producers to co-write songs, reeks of used lyrics, un-original song titles, and doesn’t even compare to their previous 4 released albums. The band did record, write, and produce the album all while touring, but that doesn’t excuse their over-used phrases and typical song lyrics about break-ups, cheating, partying and one-night stands.           

The lead singer, Alex Gaskarth, who wrote all the lyrics for their previous albums, fails to tie up the loose ends in Nothing Personal. In one song, Hello Brooklyn, he spends 40 seconds only singing the names of different cities, just in case we forgot his geographical knowledge. Another track, Break Your Little Heart, basically sums up the song in just the title. The lyrics, screaming about breaking someone’s heart makes you feel as if you were thrown into a middle school relationship where it’s more about revenge than actual emotions.

The seventh track, Too Much, gives light on the actual talent and writing ability the group has, but its unfortunate the auto-tuning is so strong you can’t concentrate on anything else.  Gaskarth has a strong, powerful voice backed up by talented musicians; they should have just left it at that.

 

A lack-luster album with 12 songs that could easily be condensed down to about 4 follows up their previous albums, which were filled with inspirational and moving lyrics. The lyrics in Nothing Personal are over-used, with Gaskarth singing about a “burning flame” or “heated match” in at least three of the songs, and the ideas of the songs never stray far from each other. They only range from broken relationships, to one-night stands and the parties that inevitably led up to it, and they’re words your little sister could’ve wrote in high school.

 

It’s not to say that this album shouldn’t receive any credit though, because you can see their hard-work and dedication throughout the album, it’s just unfortunate it didn’t pay off. In the end,  I would suggest the album if you’re looking for a generic pop-punk track-list that any average band could’ve produced, but if you’re looking for something new and refreshing, I’d walk right by it.