Album Review: Last Young Renegade - All Time Low

All Time Low are an American rock band from Maryland, US. The band consists of members Alex Gaskarth (lead vocals & rhythm guitar), Jack Barakat (lead guitar & backing vocals), Zack Merrick (bass & backing vocals) and Rian Dawson (drums).

They formed whilst still in high school in 2003, and covered pop-punk songs. In the beginning, there were two other members, TJ Ihle and Chris Cortilello, who left the band, with Zack Merrick later joining the band. They released an EP in November 2003, before signing to Emerald Moon Records in 2004, with a second EP, 'The Three Words To Remember In Dealing With The End', coming later the same year. Their debut studio album, 'The Party Scene', came in July of 2005.

All Time Low scored another record deal, but this time with Hopeless Records. In July 2006, they released the 'Put Up Or Shut Up' EP entering the Independent Albums chart at number 20. To support the EP, ATL went on a busy tour, and began writing for their second studio album.

In September 2007, they released their second studio album 'So Wrong, It's Right', which peaked at number 62 on the Billboard 200, and number 6 on the Independent Albums chart. All Time Low quickly gained popularity, appearing on a variety of television shows, and music based shows. From March 2008 to the end of the year, ATL were involved in a variety of tours, including, The Shortest Tour Ever and the 2008 Vans Warped Tour. In 2009, they released their third studio album, 'Nothing Personal', which debuted at number 4 on the Billboard chart. ATL are very much a touring band, so they were on a variety of tours throughout 2009. At the end of 2009, they announced that they had signed to a major label, Interscope Records. In May 2010, they released their first live album 'Straight To DVD', a CD/DVD of a show recorded in New York.

In 2010, the band released the song 'Painting Flowers' for the album 'Almost Alice', the soundtrack for the fantasy-adventure film Alice In Wonderland. In August, demos for the bands next album leaked on the internet, and they later confirmed the track listing. Almost a year later, they released their fourth studio album, 'Dirty Work', which peaked at number 13 in Australia and Canada, and number 20 in the UK. Even though the album wasn't out, ATL embarked on the 'Dirty Work' tour.

In May 2012, ATL left their label, Interscope Records, and released new song, as a free download from their website, 'The Reckless And The Brave'. In July, they announced that they had signed with Hopeless Records once again, and that the album, 'Don't Panic', was to be released in October. In September 2013, the band re-released their album 'Don't Panic: It's Longer Now!', which featured four new songs, and four additional acoustic remixes.

Their sixth studio album, 'Future Hearts', was recorded with producer John Feldman. 'Something's Gotta Give', was the first single from the album, and premiered in the UK on Radio One on January, 2015. The second single, 'Kids In The Dark', was released a couple of months later in March. The album was released on the 3rd April, and debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 75,000 copies in the first week, becoming the band's highest charting, and biggest selling week ever. It also topped the UK Albums Chart. Later on in the year, ATL released their latest live album/DVD, 'Straight To DVD II: Past, Present, And Future Hearts'.

Track Listing:

1. Last Young Renegade

2. Drugs & Candy

3. Dirty Laundry

4. Good Times

5. Nice2KnoU

6. Life Of The Party

7. Nightmares

8. Dark Side Of Your Room

9. Ground Control (Ft. Tegan and Sara)

10. Afterglow

This album came out on the 2nd of June, and yes I know I am very late reviewing it but I didn't not want to! All Time Low are a band that have the best CD's to blast in the car, and this one is no different! It has some great bangers on it that should only be played loud.

The first song on the album is 'Last Young Renegade'. I really enjoyed this song, it is catchy, and I liked the lyrics. I found it was a typical ATL song, meaning they have a specific sound which has been continuously consistent throughout their albums, and this song in particular showed it. I like that they started the album off with the song of the same name.

The second song is 'Drugs & Candy'. I really liked the chorus of this song, the beat of the drums were great and I found it really easy to sing along and learn the lyrics of it. I also thought the build up to the bridge was great, it wasn't too out there. It is a nice, typical pop-punk song.

'Dirty Laundry' is the next song, and was also the first single from the album. This song surprised me because it was much slower than I thought it would be. It has a slow build up throughout the song, and in all honesty, I preferred the last 45 seconds because it was more upbeat. I found it to have a haunting/hypnotic vibe to it, especially with the wispy effect on the vocals.

'Good Times' has an interesting/different intro to it. I love the vocals on this track, and I think it would sound great live. Also, it would be a great road trip song. It is one of those songs that could be perceived dependent on your mood. I believe it is the second single released from the album, and it is such a great one. It is a proper ATL tune.

The fifth song is 'Nice2KnoU'. It is a fast-paced, upbeat song, and I really like the effect on the vocals, it brings a fresh perspective to their songs. The chorus is my favourite part of the song. It is catchy and fun. I really like the lyrics to this song, they are so relatable.

'Life Of The Party' is the sixth song on the album. I found that through the verses, it is quite mellow, and then the chorus picks the song up. The vocals on the chorus are great, very versatile. I feel like if I heard this without knowing who the artist is, I definitely wouldn't have guessed it was All Time Low. I'd say it isn't their usual style, but I really like it.

'Nightmares' surprised me. It starts quite slowly and picks up throughout the song. Alex's vocals are so clear and pure, and just pure amazing. It is quite a low production song, focusing more on the vocals and lyrics. I like the lyrics, they are very different and quite emotional, very cleverly-written, matching the overall sound of the song. I did think it was quite a long song, with elements being repeated towards the end.

The seventh song is 'Dark Side Of Your Room', which is a nice, rock song, with some very strong vocals. I like that it proper goes for it and I think it's my favourite song from the album. It is a thrilling, layered song, that I would for sure blast whenever I listen to it.

I was quite surprised when I saw a collaboration on this album, in the form of 'Ground Control'. This features Canadian indie-pop duo, Tegan and Sara. I've never heard any of their work before, so didn't quite know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. I love the blend of both the male and female vocals together, it brings a fresh sound to the album, yet keeping consistent with ATL's sound. I love the lyrics, and the song just ties together really nicely.

'Afterglow' is the last song on the album, and it's a good one to finish on. I love the vocals, and the overall sound of the song, which is slightly different to their usual stuff, but it's such a great summer tune that it doesn't matter. The vocals are incredible as well. Something about the word 'Afterglow' makes the song sound so much better to me!

So that's the end of my 'review' of All Time Low's album, 'Last Young Renegade'. It is definitely an album to blast in the car, or if you want to block things out. I'm going to give it four stars, only because I wish there was a 'deluxe' version, or if the album was a couple of songs longer. I'd really like to see this album live, so if anyone knows when they are next on tour in the UK, let me know!

Also, let me know what your favourite song on the album is!