BY JEREMY HAAS
The All American Rejects are an American pop-rock band formed in Stillwater Oklahoma. Having released their fourth studio album since their formation in 1999, the All American Rejects are once again gaining popularity. The four member group grew up listening to punk rock like The Misfits, however, they tend to stray from playing music to fit specific labels. The All American Rejects deem themselves the “rejects” of pop music, as they’ve been around for years, but never seem to get the same recognition as some of the musical acts considered to be “pop-stars.”
Their new CD Kids in the Street features an eclectic style, different from previous albums. The first single “Someday’s Gone” kicks off Kids in the Street the right way. Its loud opening chords allows for excitement before the track reveals itself to be a slower, sullen ballad; accompanied by a dark music video following a hung-over romantic fight. The track is beautifully done, and gets listeners in a sulky mood before “The Beekeeper’s Daughter” chimes in with an upbeat hook, leading to an ecstatic second single. The song’s music video is fun filled, with excellent choreography and beautiful city-scenery; reminiscent of an over-the-top Broadway musical.
Kids in the Street is the All-American Rejects’ first studio album since 2008, and with four years of touring and preparation, the band has done nothing to disappoint. As they did with previous albums, the group spent retreated to a secluded house in Chicago where they’d isolate themselves from everything aside from writing music. This method allowed them to explore themselves and produce high quality, well thought out music over a span of time, rather than making an album just to make an album. With so much time to create, the All American Rejects were “forced to focus,” writing more songs than needed and choosing only the best to make it onto the album.
“In the past, we put a bunch of songs together to make an album, but for this one, we made songs with the album in mind.” Guitarist, Nick Wheeler said.
While it’s difficult to keep fans interested with so much time in between records, the band has never put out an album short of their best. As many groups re-hash old, popular ideas to please audiences, The All American Rejects try to put out something completely new and different when they release a new album.
“We’d rather take our time to put out something we’re proud of than make a bunch of albums that sound the same” Drummer, Chris Gaylor said.
