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All Time Low - Put Up or Shut Up

Rating

RIYL

Fall Out Boy
Hit the Lights
Cartel
The Starting Line

Label

Hopeless Records

Tracklist

1. Coffee Shop Soundtrack
2. Break Out! Break Out!
3. The Girl's A Straight-Up Hustler
4. Jasey Rae
5. The Party Scene
6. Running From Lions
7. Lullabies

Users Rating 1 rating	Your Rating Create an account or log in to rate this album
Recent Ratings
Rick Gebhardt

Alright, if you are a stickler for journalistic professionalism and correctness then you may want to stop reading this once you get to the first period. Anyone that has read my past reviews has probably figured out that I am one of the few reviewers around Decoy that isn’t an absolute stickler for creativity, as I’ve given decent ratings to some bands that don’t have a single creative bone collectively. So, basically, All Time Low had better be glad I am reviewing their latest EP release, Put Up or Shut Up, because most everyone around here would have laughed this release out of their house and into the first garbage truck to come down their street.

To be completely honest, All Time Low’s latest is the musical equivalent of Taco Bell… yes, Taco Bell. Despite the fact that we all know Taco Bell serves D-grade meat and wouldn’t know real Mexican food if it bit us on the nose, almost all of us have at some point lined up to order their chalupas or quesadillas, simply because they are so unbelievably cheap (and probably also because they are the only place open for your 3AM drunk munchies). The same can be said for most of the power-pop and pop-punk bands invading our music scene as of late and All Time Low is no exception; however, despite my knowing that this is D-grade music and a mockery to creativity, I still can’t help but sing along to “Coffee Shop Soundtrack,” which should have been titled “Shit, We Wish We Had Written 'Take This To Your Grave'.”

Creativity jokes aside though, Put Up or Shut Up really is pretty infectious and catchy, which is probably closer to the band’s intentions, than changing the shape of what music is; however, when listening to this EP, it’s damn near impossible to enjoy the music simply because of the fact there are so many other bands out there right now that do this a lot better and the last thing this music scene needs is another band that is nothing more than a flattering nod to Fall Out Boy and like bands.

Through and through, Put Up or Shut Up is an extremely predictable power pop release that even when hitting on all cylinders, is nothing more than a heartless attempt at Cartel or Stories and Alibis-era Matchbook Romance. Vocally and musically, All Time Low only satisfies for a very short period before the catchy hooks and the soaring choruses are found to be as repetitive, overused and cliché as, well, the idea of “soaring choruses and catchy hooks.”

Sure, vocalist Alex Gaskarth is the quintessential power-pop vocalist that puts enough teen-angst and hope in every word to make Fueled by Ramen bummed out they didn’t sign them and at the same time cause a strange wetness in the undergarments of fifteen year old girls (and hell, probably boys for that matter) all over. Gaskarth really does have a talent though, so don’t let his obvious idolization of Patrick Stump, Kenny Vasoli, and Will Pugh fool you in the least… he has the ability and the voice to be a great, unique vocalist; however, as with everyone in All Time Low, he seems to be completely alright with being a mere imitator.

Musically, this album is a complete abomination to anyone that enjoys progression, experimentation, and substance… there is none of that to be found on Put Up or Shut Up. Typically, I like to go through and highlight tracks that stand out above the others, but I simply can not do that this time. Basically, clear your mind and try to combine Cartel’s “Luckie St.” and “Honestly”, Fall Out Boy’s “Tell That Mick…,” “Dead on Arrival” and “Chicago is so Two Years Ago”, and Hit the Lights’ entire new record and you’ve got everything that Put Up or Shut Up has to offer.

In the end, while All Time Low’s latest offering is as tasty as Taco Bell’s Grilled Stuft Burrito, it leaves you with that same “about to puke” feeling in the end. The pop-punk gods aren’t going to be thrilled with this release, as it really does straddle the line of flattery and plagerism; however, these guys shouldn’t worry as there is a huge market just waiting to pile this grade-D garbage up high on their plates and to be honest, I’m not helping the situation by replaying this CD over and over (though I won’t even be able to place this band in a year’s time). Not once through my repeated listening to this album did I ever get tired of tapping my foot or singing about “staying seventeen,” but in the end, I just turned twenty-one, I’ve heard this done better since I was seventeen, and I feel like a criminal for enjoying something so obviously copied and devoid of all meaning and creativity.

--Jayme Barkdoll

Author

Jayme Barkdoll

Last updated: 09/29/2009 08:54PM

Comments

HEARTandSYNAPSE

08/18/2006

08:59AM

Location
Manchester, England

haha, ill probably love this band.

Zach Roth

08/18/2006

09:15AM

Age: 24

Location
Fishers, Indiana

I'll probably also love them.

And I love Taco Bell.

Humorous review with an amazing metaphorical value. This so disturbingly un-unique album probably didn't deserve such a unique review, huh?

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