All American Rejects – When The World Comes Down (2008)

Rating: 6 out of 10

Sarah Dolan

I am a big fan of the All American Rejects and after listening to this album repeatedly, it grew on me slightly, as did their overall “sound”, which has an emo but poppy feel. It’s not that I have to listen to every CD I buy over and over again to start enjoying what I hear, just this time I was hoping for something a little bit different from their last albums. Their slow songs tend to drag a little. All American Rejects! Slow?! C’mon!

I love their “poppiness” and their enthusiasm, but slow songs totally ruin it for the sound they are after. *Yawn*. To me, this is unambitious of them, although their emo/pop sound does tend to attract bratty teenagers who like to play Gives you Hell at full volume at their underage drinking parties, or I guess if you’re anything like me, it tends to be the catchy song that hums out of my mouth in the shower. I like the catchy tune and, between you and me, the volume button accidentally turns itself up when it plays on the radio. Hey, what can I say? It’s one of them songs that you get hooked on way too easily and unfortunately the whole self-control thing is out of the picture.

You must be thinking: “yeah, yeah, get on with it already! Do you like the album or not?!” As a matter of fact, I do. I mean, me still being a teenager, I’m allowed to, right? I must admit, the cheesy lines like “I wanna touch you, you wanna touch me too” are a little over the top, making it seem as though their goal to live up to their album Move Along was half-hearted and maybe even to go as far as saying an embarrassment? Although When The World Comes Down could be done a little better, their hit Gives You Hell did pretty darn well in 2008. You can’t deny it. I think with this album, it’s a sort of love-hate relationship. You hate the fact that they are trying too hard and their lyrics piss you off, but the catchiness is something you can’t pry yourself away from. Good effort I say. I still enjoyed it. 6 out of 10 from me.