In the glory days of pop-punk, Hot Topic-clad, angst-ridden teens would bob their heads to Blink-182, layer on too many rings of black eyeliner and complain about their parents. Now, those teens are in college with no music to satiate their desire to stir up their rebellious days and make them feel like they should sneak out and cause trouble. With Fall Out Boy going mainstream and the days of Cute is What We Aim For and Jimmy Eat World long behind us, it may seem that a modern punk princess has nothing to listen to that combines both the self-aware snarky social commentary of punk, the infectious dance hooks of pop and the power chordage and wailing vocals of emo.
Fear not, for “Future Hearts,” All Time Low’s (ATL) latest release with their label Hopeless Records, comes to the rescue. With their sixth studio album, out April 3, the group taps into the unique pop-punk vibe that shot them to underground stardom in the early 2000s while showing significant growth in their songwriting and musicality. Although the band took a strange and lackluster turn at pop with 2012’s “Don’t Panic,” they have since abandoned their predilections for electro-synth backing and over-production. They have instead refocused on what they do best: punk.
The honest, bratty, in-your-face lyricism of All Time Low developed as the band did, increasing in both depth and breadth of subject matter from “So Wrong, it’s Right” (2008) to “Dirty Work” (2011). Now this lyricism has found a new dimension, addressing themes pertinent for the band members in the strange limbo of the 20-something decade. ATL's recent lyrics address themes of suburban upbringings and navigating today’s hook-up culture, all with their distinctive pop-punk blend of sass and sentimentality.
The album opens with the addictive “Satellite,” which blends slow-paced instrumentation with vocals that already sound a little raw. The song quickly crescendos, and it’s clear that All Time Low is back and not messing around (or that they’re messing around in the exact way that they want to). The band has grown up, commanding wit and narrative deftly with lyrics like, “Strip club in a strip mall / Million ways to die / All the things we lost in / The backseat of the sky / Growing up with eyes glued shut.”
“Kicking and Screaming,” finds lead singer Alex Gaskarth hitting those guttural rock wails and guitarist Jack Barakat’s rapid scales and backing vocals meeting in perfect harmony. The band is hitting their stride here.
“Missing You” combines an acoustic guitar and the melodic vocals of Gaskarth with ATL’s signature “oh oh” refrain of back-up vocals. The song echoes tracks like “No Idea” and “Daydream Away” off of 2011’s “Dirty Work” with cheeky, self-aware lyrics that are equally sarcastic and genuinely compassionate: “I heard that you've been / Self-medicating in the quiet of your room / Your sweet, suburban tomb / But if you need a friend / I'll help you stitch up your wounds.”
Alex Gaskarth’s powerful yell-singing vocals make “Kids in the Dark” an instant ATL classic while “Runaways” sounds like early ATL, paralleling the “Time-Bomb” -- also from “Dirty Work” -- or “Vegas” from “So Wrong, it’s Right.” The tracks are both innovative and classic, combining the band’s quirky Maryland music background with their Los Angeles influences of recent years. “Runaways” is replete with power chords, a driving chorus and a perfectly danceable hook. But there’s another layer to this song, a newfound depth to lyrics, such as when Gaskarth opens by singing, “Only a quitter would let it go / I'm your fool in a one reel show.” The song seems to perfectly capture the fleeting essence of youth, while not relinquishing its grip on the present. With an anthem of glory days past and present, All Time Low seems to have finally figured out what they want to say, and they’re saying it eloquently.
The album ends on a high note, with tracks like “Dancing with a Wolf,” a song with an aggressive drumbeat and driving electric guitar. The group blends '80s power anthem strength and electro-dance subtleties to make the ballad driving and intense.
At times, the album is overwhelmingly positive, perhaps not making it the perfect pop-punk album for wallowing in one’s own self-pity and hatred of “the system.” Surprisingly, the album hits a lull in the middle when it includes guest vocals, but, it is honest and relatable, with sentimentality in its nostalgic hooks and maturity in its lyrics. For those listeners looking for the perfect new pop-punk album to add to their collections, “Future Hearts” is it.
