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Oklahoma rockers The All-American Rejects return with their third
album, When the World Comes Down. It was produced by Eric Valentine, who
has previously worked with such shining lights as Maroon 5. Some might say this isn't
exactly a good sign to start with.
The band come under the broad
description of "power pop", but this lumps in everyone from The
Buzzcocks via The La's through to OK Go. The latter, also with a new
album due imminently, gave the world the excellent single (not to
mention music video) Here It Goes Again, which it feels wrong to taint
by association.
On the one hand, the Rejects are clearly doing something right, in as
much as their previous two albums are certified platinum and double
platinum in the USA respectively. And their biggest single
to date, Dirty Little Secret from 2005's Move Along, had a bit of kick
to it.
But there's not much in the way to delight the ears on this
particular offering. Some winsomely Bond-style violin playing
(the all-female string quartet, as opposed to 007) opens Fallin' Apart,
but isn't used to its full potential. Splattered either side of this are
two songs about girl trouble, which feature stunningly incisive lyrics
like "Ooh you think that you could just push me around / Nah nah nah /
Yeah there you go again". Dear Deidre should be dispatched, stat.
Things perk up a bit with Gives You Hell, which will be first single
released from this album. The theme is being spiteful towards an ex, and
relishing the feeling of doing so. How well-adjusted. Still, it's a
rather good tune - on a par with Why Don't You Get A Job? by The
Offspring.
The mandatory lovey-dovey ballad rides up immediately
afterward, however, with sappy lines like "You can sit beside me when
the world comes down." It would have been preferable if they'd continued
in the vein of the previous song, perhaps with Dorothy Parker's line "If
you don't have anything nice to say, come sit by me."
In Another Heart Calls, a guy and a girl sing sweet nothings to each
other over thrashing guitars. If only Baz Luhrmann had thought to use
this sort of dross when he remade Romeo And Juliet. Instead
we had to make do with the Cardigans, the Wannadies and
Kym Mazelle. The sheer, unadulterated horror of it all.
The penultimate track The Wind Blows is quite different from
everything else on the album. Hints of '80s synths linger in the
background, and as slow songs go in this genre, it isn't half bad.
There's a touch of restraint to the proceedings, without guitars
crushing everything else in sight.
But this is not an album that you're going to come back to again and
again. It's tuneful in places, but ultimately pretty vapid.
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