Band : All Time Low
Album Title : Nothing Personal
Label : Hopeless Records
Distribution : Sonic Rendezvous
Release date : October 2009
Review : CD

Nothing Personal is the third studio album of the American pop punk band All Time Low, after the first studio album The Party Scene (2005) and the second one So Wrong, It’s Right (2007). The four youngsters Alex Gaskarth (vocals & guitar), Jack Barakat (guitar), Zack Merrick (bass) and Rian Dawson (drums) come from Baltimore, Maryland and formed the band in 2003. Originally, they started out as a cover band of Blink-182 and Green Day. These influences can still be heard now they write their own songs. Other references I like to add are for instance New Found Glory, All-American Rejects and Simple Plan.

It’s clear that All Time Low are aiming on cheap success in the category of screaming teenage girls, a formula that some of the above-mentioned bands have developped as a standard. As far as All Time Low is concerned, I must say that this band definitely has the potential to achieve an international breakthrough, but the quality of the songs (and certainly the lyrics) should improve to a better level. Because now, some songs on Nothing Personal really are infantile, others show more maturity and have the necessary massive hooks to make the crowd cheer along.

Nothing Personal contains 12 songs and has a playing time of 41 minutes. Highlights of the album are the opening track and first single “Weightless”, “Break Your Little Heart”, the second single “Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t)”, “Sick Little Games”, “Walls”, “Too Much” and “A Party Song (The Walk Of Shame)”. All Time Low undertake a European tour in January/February 2010, with dates at AB Brussels (Belgium) on February 8th and at Melkweg Amsterdam (the Netherlands) on February 9th.

70/100

Erik.