Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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84 of 95 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Youth., July 22, 2005
On their second album, The All-American Rejects continue to forge the power-rock they started with their debut in 2003. Their greatest strength is their driving beats and extra-large guitar chops. At 42 minutes in length, it feels more like 21. However, the band has always had issues with sounding like Green Day or Blink 182, and that is still evident with their sophomore release. This band will have to try harder to individuate themselves from the rest of the pack if they plan on surviving the fickle music business and predominantly teenage audiences that buy their music.
There are glimpses of that individuality with the title song, perhaps the best song on the disc, "Move Along". It's anti-suicide theme set against a trippy drum pattern replete with a children's choir. One of the other stand out tracks, "Night Drive", sounds like the Bay City Rollers 1976 hit "Saturday Night" in terms of its beat. The band attempts a few power ballads in the form of "It Ends Tonight" and "Straitjacket Feeling" along with the final track "Can't Take It". Their success is varied, with "It Ends Tonight" being the best of the three. Elsewhere, "Dance Inside" begins with some great vocals, but then shifts gears into standard rock fare.
Overall, for a band that is still associated with their original hit "Swing, Swing" from their debut. The All-American Rejects continue to put out strong power pop-rock music when most artists are churning out bland top 40 drivel. I noticed that the band jumped record labels from Dreamworks to Interscope, which is usually a bad sign for a band, but hopefully Interscope will realize the potential of this band and encourage them to try new musical directions and expand as artists.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not under 13, just don't want to sign up..., February 19, 2007
A Kid's Review
The one great thing about the Rejects' style is that it's fun. No real tear-jerkers on here, but great for the times when you just want to listen to something light to help pick up your day.
Move Along is definitely a different style from their debut album, but I find it more likable over all. They do lose the "garage band" sound, but to me it's a definite improvement (the obvious drum machine was possibly the most irritating thing about their freshman album).
Song by song:
1. Dirty Little Secret (8.5/10)- This was my favorite first time around, but after a while it started to get on my nerves a little. I'm all for blasting music, but playing this thing at full blast is enough to give me a migrane. It's a little flat overall, but definitely catchy.
2. Stab My Back (8/10)- I think this should have been their third single (as opposed to Top of the World). It did get old, but I took a break from it for a while and it remains among my favorites.
3. Move Along (10/10)- There's a reason this one is so popular, and that's because it's great. They keep it both exotic (with the bongo-like drums) and rockish at the same time, experimenting with different sounds (children's choir, anyone?) and it all just works together seamlessly. Uplifting, too.
4. It Ends Tonight (10/10)- I'm a sucker for the piano, so this one got me right away. It appears to be a ballad at first, but picks up and gets very fast-paced. Also my favorite lyrics on the whole album.
5. Change Your Mind (7/10)- Not one of my favorites. I really like the lyrics (actually, I think they're the best part), but I find the beat a little annoying. Not bad over all, I still do like to listen to it from time to time.
6. Night Drive (9.5/10)- This isn't one of the more popular songs on the album, but it's one of my favorites. The guitar riffs are amazing and not too overdone by like in Dirty Little Secret. You can almost feel the desperation in the lyrics. The .5 taken off was for the clapping (which does make the song stand out, but can grate on you if you play it too loud).
7. 11:11 PM (9/10)- I really like it, but it's not quite as memorable as the others. Nice and fast paced.
8. Dance Inside (9/10)- Took a long time to grow on me, but when it did it became one of my favorites. The lyrics are slightly on the *naughty* side, but hey, it is what it is. It's a nice, softer type song, if the hard guitar riffs of some of the others aren't what you're in the mood for at the moment.
9. Top Of The World (7.5/10)- I really want to give these guys credit for trying to come up with a different topic for a song, but it feels as if they're trying too hard and just jumping on the "bash Bush" bandwagon. I'm not a Bush supporter, but I don't really need to hear about him in every other thing played on the radio. The song is actually not bad overall, but the lyrics feel too contrived.
10. Straightjacket Feeling (7.5/10)- The slowest song on the album. I like it a lot, with a nice title and lyrics. Just not among the top few. ;)
11. I'm Waiting (6/10)- The only one I couldn't get into. I don't know why, I feel like I should like it, but I just can't. I like the chorus a lot, but whenever it comes up, I skip over it.
12. Can't Take It (10/10)- I love this one. The violins give a nice, dramatic tone, which just makes the lyrics more meaningful. A little on the short side, but sweet nontheless.
There were also two bonus tracks that you can download online (if you didn't get them with the CD), Kiss Yourself Good-Bye and Eyelash Wishes. Both are good, if a little reminiscent of their old style, so I recommend checking them out.
In the end, this is a good, fun album. Check it out, you shouldn't be disappointed (unless you're expecting death metal, of course). ;)
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who cares whether they're punk or not????, March 17, 2006
This is a very good CD, regardless of any labels it's given. If you want to call it punk that's fine, but if you want to call it pop or something else go ahead and do that too.
The All-American Rejects astounded listeners with their first album (particularly "Swing, Swing", who hasn't heard that) which was really impressive (buy that too!). With this album, however, you can tell they're maturing and refining their sound to their own style. This record is more....rounded out, I would say, with each track memorably different yet containing the classic AAR sound.
"Dirty Little Secret" and "Stab My Back" get this album off to a good start, with catchy melodies which will stay in your head all day. "Move Along", the title track, is good too, and the lyrics actually make you feel like you matter, however corny that sounds.
"It Ends Tonight". We can all identify with this song, whichever side of things we happened to be on. It's followed by "Change Your Mind", which is one of my favorite tracks, upbeat and catchy. Then again, is there any AAR song which isn't catchy?
"Night Drive", which may not be one of the best songs on the CD, is still good. It doesn't sound like AAR (besides Tyson's unique voice)as much as you would expect, but open-minded people will like this. I really like "11:11 pm", which has the same kind of qualities as "Change Your Mind" but is just different enough to be awesome.
Now for my favorite song on the record, "Dance Inside". This song is so beautiful I've cried listening to it. The music is beautiful and the lyrics are perfect. Someone on here compared it to Coldplay; I wouldn't agree. I'd go so far as to say it's like Angels and Airwaves. Even if you don't like the All-American Rejects, listen to this song and see if it doesn't convince you.
"Top of the World" is a fun song. I like the guitar on this; it kind of starts off sounding Spanish and then hits you with a barrage of music. The vocals are kind of bratty and the melody is really strong. "Straitjacket Feeling", which follows it, is kind of wiped out by the previous songs. It's kind of similar to "It Ends Tonight", and I often find myself blending the two because they're so alike.
Ending with "I'm Waiting", reminicient of album number one, and "Can't Take It", a calming-down song which reminds you the CD's done, this album closes with the impression there will be more and to come in the future.
I wouldn't really try to compare AAR to any band, although you'll like them if you like Green Day or blink. If you have the first CD, get this one too. Do it. NOW.
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