(Photo courtesy of: We Love DC). “All Time Low’s ‘Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now’ has now been out for a decade.”
Riley Fontana
Connector Editor
2013 was undeniably one of the biggest years in the pop-punk underground revival and it got even bigger on September 30, 2013, when Baltimore band All Time Low released the extended edition of their latest album.This version, now titled “Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now”, was their fifth album and first studio album. The original version was released a year prior on October 1, 2012.
The extended version immediately became the more popular version among fans, now having eight more songs to listen to. The new songs included four acoustic versions and four entirely new songs. These songs included the fan favorite “The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver” and the incredibly popular “Love like War” which featured Vic Fuentes of Pierce the Veil. There were other featured artists on the album including Jason Vena of the band Acceptance and Anthony Raneri of Bayside. These collaborations proved just how much All Time Low was climbing the pop-punk ladder and establishing themselves as a band.
This album stays a top-choice for many fans, and the band still pays homage to it every tour. Their current tour has fans voting on their surprise song each night and almost every night a song off “Don’t Panic” has been the winner. All Time Low usually passes on putting “Don’t Panic” on their main setlist, claiming them to be too difficult to perform live, but fans lose their minds when they decide to play off this album.
The album also stands as a form of autobiography for the band as it waswritten and produced when they decided to take the chance and sign with Hopeless Records, their first-ever record label. This was a turning point in the band’s history, marking their decision to skip out on going to college and begin touring with a few other pop-punk bands.
The song “So Long Soldier” actually tells the story of the band, all the way from lead singer Alex Gaskarth moving to Baltimore as a kid from England, up to the tour they were immediately taking off for. This song holds a special place in the hearts of everyone in the fandom because it’s one of the band’s more open and honest songs. Within the lyrics is genuine fear of their plan not working out, hope that they would make it and excitement about all the new opportunities coming their way.
If it were not for this album and the choices the band made in 2012, there would be no All Time Low today. This album changed the lives of Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat, Zack Merrick and Rian Dawson. Fans have nothing but adoration for this album and the role it played in bringing the band to where they are now.
In the 10 years since “Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now” All Time Low has released 4 more albums and have played countless live shows. There is certainly more to come for this band, and they will have a dedicated fanbase following them until the end.
