You know you’re getting old when a band you still think of as “kids” is on their seventh album. You know what you’re getting with All Time Low. Alex Gaskarth and co are reaching the maximum age at which they can still get away with this. Then again, one need only look at Green Day trotting out the same schtick that they were playing as teenagers to see that the facade needn’t fall while the time is appropriate.

Like Pierce The Veil, ATL are a different proposition on record than they are live. Live, they are the descendants of The Descendents, while in the studio, they are The Wanted. The production is laid on so thick that it is difficult to see through but if you can penetrate the studio sheen, there are solid tunes underneath that usually only surface when the band play live. This Cartesian dichotomy makes listening to Last Young Renegade like panning for gold, but the gold is there.

The title track that opens the album has a ‘Boys Of Summer’ melody with a melancholic vibe to match. The familiar line between the emo and the euphoric continues on ‘Drugs & Candy’. ‘Dirty Laundry’ and ‘Good Times’ are sub-boy band whinging but the lost momentum is swiftly recovered by ‘Nice2KnoU’.  On this recent single, ATL unleash riffs and beats under ‘woah-woahs’ and a bouncy chorus that Blink-182 would envy. The refrain of “One more time as if we planned it/We just want to do some damage” will get the dance floor hopping.

‘Nightmares’ is a departure and the standout track of Last Young Renegade. It's an Airborne Toxic Event type tune; understated by ATL standards and easy on the autotune, ‘Nightmares’ has Chvrches melodies, and is an adventurous and ambitious song. ‘Dark Side of Your Room’, bizarrely, has the most recognisable pop/rock lead vocal but is given the least straightforward musical banking. With ‘Ground Control’ and ‘Afterglow’, the record peters to a finish in an uninspiring fashion with some ‘80s AOR.

Last Young Renegade isn't going to change your life but it should win more young alternative fans for the band. A lot of this album will slip straight in to their live set and fit squarely with their greatest hits. If you’re an ATL fan, past or present, you'll dig this. If you're not, then you're not missing much.

Last Young Renegade is available via Amazon and iTunes.

Twenty One Pilots are known for their genius mix of ukulele, rapping, and heavy drums; an odd combination not doubt but one that just works for them. Blurryface is their second album and slightly heavier than the previous. This has already been shown through their first single ‘Fairly Local’ and latest track ‘Stressed Out’ which sums up the album well, showcasing the talent and incredible combination it seems only they could pull off with the slightly heavier feel. Either of these tracks would have been a great opening as the actual opening song ‘HeavyDirtySoul’ isn’t as powerful.

What makes this duo work across all genres and forms is the powerful and extremely honest lyrics. The stand out tracks for this are ‘Lane Boy’ a metaphor about crossing genres and forms and refusing to stay in the ‘lanes’ that others expect or pressure them to, ‘The Judge’ that sends an honest message through a metaphor rather than a message getting lost in metaphors and ‘We Don’t believe What’s On TV’ which is a political song with a ukulele led track another combination that is a popular choice for them. Although their song ‘Message Man’ sums up their lyrics best by simply stating: “It’s poetry.”

They sum up their signature sound best themselves in ‘Not Today’ by saying “this song is a contradiction because it sounds so happy but the words are so down.” They have the perfect balance between emotional and impactful lyrics and happy beats.

Although their lyrics are more political and about life and the problems people face throughout life, there are still some cute love songs in the mix too. Most noticeably ‘Tear In My Heart’ a beautiful ukulele based love song, which still flows well in the album despite being very romantic.

This closing track is ‘Goner’ a sad piano lead song that is the slowest on the album bring it to a close well. The last lyric is ‘I just wanna be known by you’, and expect these guys to be known by everyone soon. They have talent in bucket loads and such a unique and refreshing take on an often repetitive industry. 

Blurryface is available from amazon and iTunes.