(Photo courtesy of Daily Express) “”All Time Low” continues their evolution of sound on their latest record.”
Riley Fontana
Connector Editor
Baltimore band All Time Low released their 11th album on Friday, March 17th. Having formed in 2003, this year is their 20th on the music scene. Their newest album titled “Tell Me I’m Alive” begs fans to feel alive—to feel anything—which is something the COVID-19 pandemic has made incredibly difficult to do. The album feels like an ode to doing what you have to do to survive at any cost. With 13 songs, the album perfectly rings in a new era of mixing old and new sounds.
The album opens with the title track, “Tell Me I’m Alive,” which paints a picture of destructive habits in trying to feel alive again. This was the second single released from the album after “Sleepwalking,” and it perfectly captures what the full album will entail. It sets up the themes of self-destruction for the sake of feeling something, and the rest of the album delves into self-destruction for the sake of love and passion.
A lot of the album delves into the complexity of intimate relationships, from “Modern Love,” which details dating and the issues it can cause, to “I’d Be Fine (If I Never Saw You Again)” and “The Other Side,” which talk about the phases that pass after a breakup. “I’d Be Fine (If I Never Saw You Again)” talks about how much easier breakups and separations would be if never seeing the other person again were possible. It also goes into how much seeing the person again brings back emotions from the relationship and how hard that is for so many people.
“The Other Side” goes into how hard it is to see the other person move on from the relationship. Lead singer Alex Gaskarth sings lyrics about seeing how the other person has moved on to a new person and the turmoil this causes. He talks about the mix of happiness when seeing that they’ve moved on and the pain it causes because he is unable to carry on.
The entire album does not talk about self-destruction, even though it is a central theme. The songs “New Religion”, featuring Teddy Swims, and “Lost Along The Way” put a modern twist on pop-punk love songs. They talk about different types of love and relationships, with “New Religion” focusing more on the worship of a partner and “Lost Along The Way” talking about traveling to be with a partner and the way people change while being with another person.
This album perfectly mixes their older 2000s-era pop-punk sound with a more modern spin. Multiple songs on the album feel reminiscent of their 2012 album “Don’t Panic,” with bouncy melodies and heartbreaking lyrics. The album’s fifth song, “Calm Down,” is the perfect example of such sound mixing. The song is a call to freak out even when being told to calm down. With its catchy music and lyrics begging for feelings of anxiety and panic, “Calm Down” is the perfect partner song to the band’s 2012 song, “The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver”.
The album is coupled with a summer tour. All Time Low is going to be touring North America with Mayday Parade and Games We Play starting May 7th. Tickets are on sale now, and “Tell Me I’m Alive” is streaming everywhere.
Grade: A+
