It’s been two years since their last visit and almost everyone has been waiting for it to happen again. Baltimore-based band All Time Low is coming to Monmouth once more on their spring “Future Hearts Tour” featuring accompanying bands Tonight Alive, State Champs, and Issues on Friday, April 17. The album, which matches the name of the tour, was just released on Tuesday, April 7, following two singles, “Something’s Gotta Give” and “Kids in the Dark.” This is All Time Low’s sixth album, and while some think it’s a great new chapter in the journey that is All Time Low’s career, others beg to differ.
Amanda Salerno, a junior psychology student, is not too thrilled with how the record came out. “I was listening to it with my friend the other day and I didn’t like how you could guess the song names from the songs themselves because they say it in every chorus.” The album’s single, “Something’s Gotta Give,” does what Salerno suggests, with the lyrics stating, “I’m dying to live/Something’s gotta give.”
This is a change in lyrics from All Time Low’s old music. Salerno said she hopes that they play their old songs rather than their newer ones. “I suppose they’ll play ‘Kids in the Dark’ and their new songs, but I really am excited to see ‘Remembering Sunday’ and ‘Vegas.’” Both aforementioned tracks are off of All Time Low’s sophomore album from 2007, So Wrong, It’s Right.
Salerno and other lovers of the early chapters of All Time Low will still likely be very happy with the tour, because it is almost routine for All Time Low to play crowd favorites; their acoustic set whilst headlining in the past has included “Remembering Sunday” and other ballad, “Therapy.” In 2011, on their “Gimme Summer Your Love Tour,” front man Alex Gaskarth went on stage by himself and did the two songs acoustically.
Also expected to be heard are past singles, “Time Bomb,” off of 2011’s Dirty Work, “Damned If I Do You (Damned If I Don’t)” from 2009’s Nothing Personal, and of course their encore song, “Dear Maria, Count Me In,” the track that got All Time Low to playing college arenas like the Multipurpose Activity Center (MAC).
While Salerno wasn’t a fan of the album, others found it not so bad. Franny Kieffer, a junior graphic design student, enjoyed most of the album. “I have been a fan of All Time Low for a while, and even though I love their old songs, their new stuff is cool.” Kieffer said her favorites included “Tidal Waves,” featuring Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, and “Runaways,” a pop rock anthem that’s almost an ode to Yellowcard’s “Ocean Avenue,” with the similar theme of running away somewhere that most pop rock songs capture.
Despite everyone’s conflicting opinions on the album, it seems that the band has come to a happy medium. After 2011’s Dirty Work did not make their fans happy and they let the record label control a lot of the production behind the scenes, the band combated that by delivering a phenomenal album in 2012, Don’t Panic. Both albums were polar opposites in sound, Dirty Work being pure pop and Don’t Panic getting back to the roots of their pop rock-dom; it is in Future Hearts that they have acquired everything they were aiming for.
With collaborations from two fellow pop rockers, Hoppus and Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden, All Time Low has hit a point where no matter what they do, their career will be successful. The album’s youth and vibrancy with a rebellious edge is what makes All Time Low, and this album reflects that.
Therefore, it is pretty safe to say that All Time Low’s show at the MAC is going to be a hit, no matter what album that fans prefer. Being around for so long has its perks and despite their set list, after all these years the band still has a loyal following.
So if you give the album a listen and whether you like it or prefer So Wrong, It’s Right to Future Hearts, and whether you liked Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat, Zack Merrick, and Rian Dawson before they sold out to a record label or not, they’re worth the 40 bucks for tickets. This show is something you don’t want to miss and if you’re lucky, they might just play your favorite oldie.
IMAGE TAKEN from pupfresh.com
