All Time Low's 'Wake Up, Sunshine': Album Review
All Time Low manages to recapture their early 2000s essence, while adding the maturity that they’ve gained over the years. After their 2017 album, Last Young Renegade, which was smoother and more conceptual than the pop-punk sound they are typically associated with, the band has managed to elevate their original sound with Wake Up, Sunshine.
The band recaptures the quintessential sound of the era that made them so popular in the first two tracks of the album. “Some Kind of Disaster” is reminiscent of Green Day circa 1997 and “Sleeping In” is more blink-182 than blink-182 has been recently. Both of these serve as an homage to what are obviously two of the band’s heroes and biggest influences.
“Getaway Green” follows up effortlessly, with “Melancholy Kaleidoscope” following with a bang. Gaskarth croons, “I wanna hear another fast song/ Something to tune out all these bad thoughts”, gloomy lyrics over a punchy tempo, illustrating precisely what he’s singing about and serving as an ironic lyricism that is hard to master.
The band ― lead singer Alex Gaskarth, guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson ― took a break after their 2017 album release to pursue other opportunities and work on personal projects. While listening to this album, it’s quite clear that this time apart only served to benefit the band as a whole and strengthen their overall sound.
The album’s title track is most reminiscent of the likes of “Dear Maria, Count Me In”, but with a positive, self-love twist set to a surf-rock beat with a strong emphasis on the snare.
Another standout on the album is “January Gloom (Seasons Pt.1)”, a poignant song about a loved one with a strong correlation to the effects of seasonal depression. Gaskarth sings, “A victim of the season, need a better reason/ To be miserable” and “You're like the sunshine in the lazy days of June/ Hiding in your room, save me from this January gloom”.
While I already mentioned that All Time Low has made a full circle of sorts back to their original sound, that doesn’t mean that they don’t experiment within this album. On “Monsters”, rapper blackbear lends his voice to a powerful second verse, creating both a beautiful and stark contrast between vocals. “Monster” is perhaps the most genre-eluding song that ATL has ever released, and we can thank the band members’ individual projects for this track.
The closing track, “Basement Noise” beautifully concludes the album, ending on a sentimental note of all of the band members harmonizing in acapella, “Just stupid boys making basement noise in the basement”. It’s a nostalgic look at the making of their first albums, made in their parent’s houses, against the making of Wake Up, Sunshine, which once again required the quartet to be around one another and create music in this format for the first time in years. Overall, the final track sums up the entirety of the album, nostalgic, reflective, and light-hearted.
Album cover for Wake Up, Sunshine / courtesy of @alltimelow on Instagram
The band recaptures the quintessential sound of the era that made them so popular in the first two tracks of the album. “Some Kind of Disaster” is reminiscent of Green Day circa 1997 and “Sleeping In” is more blink-182 than blink-182 has been recently. Both of these serve as an homage to what are obviously two of the band’s heroes and biggest influences.
“Getaway Green” follows up effortlessly, with “Melancholy Kaleidoscope” following with a bang. Gaskarth croons, “I wanna hear another fast song/ Something to tune out all these bad thoughts”, gloomy lyrics over a punchy tempo, illustrating precisely what he’s singing about and serving as an ironic lyricism that is hard to master.
The band ― lead singer Alex Gaskarth, guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson ― took a break after their 2017 album release to pursue other opportunities and work on personal projects. While listening to this album, it’s quite clear that this time apart only served to benefit the band as a whole and strengthen their overall sound.
The album’s title track is most reminiscent of the likes of “Dear Maria, Count Me In”, but with a positive, self-love twist set to a surf-rock beat with a strong emphasis on the snare.
All Time Low for the cover of Upset Magazine / courtesy of @alltimelow on Instagram
Another standout on the album is “January Gloom (Seasons Pt.1)”, a poignant song about a loved one with a strong correlation to the effects of seasonal depression. Gaskarth sings, “A victim of the season, need a better reason/ To be miserable” and “You're like the sunshine in the lazy days of June/ Hiding in your room, save me from this January gloom”.
While I already mentioned that All Time Low has made a full circle of sorts back to their original sound, that doesn’t mean that they don’t experiment within this album. On “Monsters”, rapper blackbear lends his voice to a powerful second verse, creating both a beautiful and stark contrast between vocals. “Monster” is perhaps the most genre-eluding song that ATL has ever released, and we can thank the band members’ individual projects for this track.
The closing track, “Basement Noise” beautifully concludes the album, ending on a sentimental note of all of the band members harmonizing in acapella, “Just stupid boys making basement noise in the basement”. It’s a nostalgic look at the making of their first albums, made in their parent’s houses, against the making of Wake Up, Sunshine, which once again required the quartet to be around one another and create music in this format for the first time in years. Overall, the final track sums up the entirety of the album, nostalgic, reflective, and light-hearted.
All Time Low's Wake Up, Sunshine: 9/10
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