The All-American Rejects had been overtaken by occasions when their self-titled 2002 debut album whipped up a storm. Initially a small launch on US indie label Doghouse, it bagged them a serious cope with DreamWorks and excitable evaluations referencing influential names, together with The Who, The Vehicles, and Weezer. The Rejects’ sophomore launch, 2005’s Transfer Alongside, additionally did brisk enterprise, however 2008’s When The World Comes Down stays the top on the subject of their creative achievement.
Hearken to When The World Comes Down on Apple Music and Spotify.
A relentless rollercoaster experience
Initially a songwriting duo consisting of Tyson Ritter (bass/vocals) and guitarist Nick Wheeler, The All-American Rejects first shaped in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1999. Nonetheless, their eponymous debut’s crossover success led to them morphing right into a fully-fledged quartet; tour alumni Mike Kennerty and drummer Chris Gaylor remained on board for the double-platinum Transfer Alongside, which included three Billboard Prime 20 hits, “Dirty Little Secret,” “Move Along” and “It Ends Tonight.”
Laden with killer pop-punk anthems, The All-American Rejects and Transfer Alongside established Ritter and Wheeler as songwriters of reputation, and their band’s exuberant reside exhibits additional unfold the gospel. Nonetheless, alternatives to pen a 3rd album proved elusive when the band’s in depth twister trek, in help of Transfer Alongside, dragged into 2007. By this time, Ritter and Wheeler wanted some solitude – partly to create new materials, but in addition to mirror on the relentless rollercoaster experience of the previous 5 years.
“If you have somebody there for you, you still have love”
In the long run, the duo decamped individually to distant elements of North America for some overdue R&R, however after they returned, they’d sketched out the band’s most constant set of songs so far. To comprehend them, The All-American Rejects attached with in-demand producer Eric Valentine (Queens Of The Stone Age, Smash Mouth), initially at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch, in San Rafael, California, after which for additional periods at LA’s Barefoot Studios.
Launched on December 16, 2008, When The World Comes Down’s title provided a clue that the third AAR album contained their most reflective materials but: “The title seems really negative, which maybe fits with the times right now,” Nick Wheeler defined in an interview with PopMatters.
“But it’s not the whole story. It’s saying that when your world is coming down – whether that means someone biting the big one or getting fired or whatever – but if you have something or somebody there for you, then you still have love to make life worthwhile and be happy.”
“It’s still the best record we ever made”
As Wheeler hinted, The All-American Rejects had grown considerably within the 5 years since their debut album hit the racks. Their collective rites of passage had, nonetheless, impressed their most resonant songs so far: ‘Fallin’ Aside,” the crestfallen ‘The Wind Blows,” and the plaintive, acoustic ‘Mona Lisa” were clearly fueled by the downsides of affairs of the heart, while the world-weariness in Ritter’s voice was palpable on the synth-laced ‘Actual World” when he sang, “The shadows come, but no one seems to care.”
Largely, although, the existentialism was leavened by exhilarating music. Regardless of its troubled kiss-off line (“I don’t wanna believe that when we die, we all leave”), the storming ‘Believe” was as life-affirming as a rubber-burning pop-punk anthem can be. ‘Another Heart Calls,” meanwhile, featured Ritter trading lines with LA-based duo The Pierces, and while its lyric raked over the embers of a broken relationship, it remains as dynamic and cinematic as anything in The All-American Rejects’ canon.
Because the quirky, tongue-in-cheek ‘Gives You Hell” and the infectious ‘I Wanna” also proved, When The World Comes Down contained its fair share of radio-friendly singles. Promoted by a memorable clip directed by Marc Webb, the former quickly rose to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 (giving the band their biggest US single to date) while ‘I Wanna” also cracked the Top 40 of Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.
“This record was therapy”
Launched whereas AAR was touring the US with Taking Again Sunday, When The World Comes Down acquired favorable evaluations, with The Boston Globe suggesting the file “will only cement the band’s top-of-the-heap status.” It additionally put up a robust displaying on the Billboard 200, the place it peaked at No. 15 and rapidly went gold, proving that the band had efficiently matured with out jettisoning its core viewers.
The album’s content material rightly stuffed its creators with satisfaction: “I think When The World Comes Down has been a journey,” Tyson Ritter instructed PopMatters in 2009. “I think I was most questioning life when I was getting off the road with Move Along, and this record was therapy. It’s everything I needed it to be for me.”
“Right now, we’re living it, and we want it to match or beat the success of Move Along,” Nick Wheeler added, “but even if it doesn’t, it’s still the best record we’ve ever made.”
When The World Comes Down may be purchased right here.
