(Photo courtesy of Deezer) All-Time Low’s new album releases March 17th.
Riley Fontana
Connector Editor
In anticipation of their new album “Tell Me I’m Alive” pop-punk band All Time Low has released two singles and music videos accompanying both songs. The most recent song is “Modern Love” which dropped on Valentine’s Day.
“Modern Love” tells the story of just that–modern love, and the complications that come with it. The singer is talking to someone named Stacey and the issues she is currently causing in the relationship. Stacey is said to be obsessed with “drugs and dating,” and the singer is tired of her obsession and feels like it is ruining their relationship.
The song’s chorus states that “I’m suffocating, choking on infatuation.” This could imply that he feels overwhelmed in the relationship and that Stacy is giving him more love and affection than he wants. He also mentions that Stacy is “so quick to jump ship, on some flavor of the week” meaning she is probably breaking up the singer for someone else constantly to feed her obsession with dating.
This is All Time Low’s second Valentine’s Day song with the first being the 2009 release “Toxic Valentine” while the song did not release on Valentine’s Day, many fans use it to celebrate the holiday and recent breakups. The song was made for the film “Jennifer’s Body” which holds a special place in the hearts of many pop-punk fans.
This music video is very simple for All Time Low, who have been known to tell stories and create elaborate scenery for this music video. This set consisted of a checkered floor, a large red curtain backdrop and a black grand piano covered in roses with wine glasses and a lamp placed on it. Everyone in the band is dressed in full black suits, except for lead singer Alex Gaskarth who wore a bright red suit, wings and leather heeled boots. As the band was teasing this release on social media fans were calling out what seemed to be a nod to Elton John.
The Elton John outfit was not the only nod to musical inspirations with this release. In the bridge of the song, it says “some killer queen, making a scene” which fans connected to Queen’s song “Killer Queen.” While these connections have not been confirmed or denied by the band, fans’ theories of what this could mean for the rest of the album have been rampant.
All Time Low seems to be ringing in a new era of their music, leaving their last album “Wake Up Sunshine” in 2020. With the two songs that have been released so far this new era seems somewhat reminiscent of their 2012 album “Don’t Panic.” Both of these albums carried heavier themes around relationships and mental health with upbeat music playing in the background.
The first single from the album they dropped was “Tell Me I’m Alive” a song about destructive habits for the sake of feeling alive. This song resonated with fans, especially with how open Gaskarth has been about his own mental health in the past. The music video that accompanied this title told a story of self-destruction. Following Gaskarth as he refuses medical treatment from his bandmates dressed as EMTs before being sedated and having a hazy dream that includes the devil and a bar fight. The song covers these dark topics that fans may be dealing with in a way that makes them feel seen.
The two current singles might be connected through the lyrics. In “Tell Me I’m Alive” the singer briefly mentions “A bite mark on my lip from kissing vampires” while in “Modern Love” they state “Bite my lip and spin me faster.” This might just be a coincidence in the writing, but it could hint at an overall theme of love-vampires in the album.
Along with dropping their new song on Tuesday, All Time Low announced an American tour for this summer. Touring with Mayday Parade and Games We Play to celebrate All Time Low’s upcoming album the tour promises to be a lot of fun. The first tour date kicks off in May and will run through June. Their new album releases on March 17th.
