Album: “The All-American Rejects”

Description

The All-American Rejects: Tyson Ritter (vocals, bass); Nick Wheeler (guitar, keyboards, drums, programming). Recorded at Mission Sound and Headgear Studio, Brooklyn, New York. The first album from Oklahoma power pop/punk band All-American Rejects features the hit "Swing Swing", "The Last Song", and "My Paper Heart". U.K. edition inclues the bonus acoustic track "Cigarette Song". The debut album from heartland power-pop whiz kids All-American Rejects reveals both a keen instinct for addictive hooks and a willingness to not overdo it, and despite their youth, they sound like old pros at making broken heart anthems. While recent acts like Weezer are obvious touchstones for their sound, they've also absorbed older influences like the Beach Boys, or even polished popsters like Bryan Adams, to make streamlined pop with some teeth. Singer Tyson Ritter has a clear, unpretentious voice that communicates romantic disappointment without sounding whiny, which immediately puts the Rejects above their peers. "Your Star" drops bouncy piano into an otherwise standard number, and "The Last Song" opens with a wash of keys and electronics before exploding into a new-wave raveup. With songs so agreeable, they should consider changing their name. Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler, the two college-age clean-cut men who form the nexus of the All-American Rejects, have a knack for driving home a pop hook. Clearly weaned on power pop's history from the Beach Boys and Big Star to the Cars and Weezer and other more modern proponents, the Oklahoma outfit serves up gentle pop radiance with a hint of Replacements-style brashness on its self-titled debut. The All-American Rejects' songs capture a youthful simplicity without slipping into juvenile lyrics like many bands with a similar sound. There is an endearing innocence in tunes like "My Paper Heart" with its simple opening entreaty "please just don't play with me/my paper heart will bleed" over insistent acoustic guitar before a quiet storm replete with a tympani-sounding instrument. Ornate instrumentation abounds, but it augments the music, never seeming forced or out or place, likely a combination of prescience on the pair's part and the experienced hand of producer-engineer Tim O'Heir (Sebadoh, Superdrag, Possum Dixon). In fact, the album's hallmark is a bewitching, summery, infectious pop consistency.