Tell Me I’m Alive
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ALL TIME LOW – TELL ME I’M ALIVE – ALBUM REVIEW
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain”
The juvenile lyrical content and ability to mimic whatever the popular music of the scene is of the time is ultimately what endeared All Time Low to their legion of fans in their early years. Their knack for jumping on trends and still producing solid musical output has allowed them far greater longevity then perhaps they could’ve expected when they broke through.
Whilst, like many others from that scene, they have evolved musically, they also feel like the one band still desperate to cling to the past. It’s this mismatch of philosophies that makes their new album, ‘Tell Me I’m Alive’, so disjointed and well, just plain cringey.
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The lyrical content alone feels like its purposefully devolved back into the infantile and over-simplistic work of kids lacking life experience. The band feel like a creepy caricature of themselves on this record which is just odd and uncomfortable.
Musically they still seem to be reaching for whatever they feel will sell to the youth of the day. This is a sound business technique and it’s served them well in the past, largely due to their ability to pull this off better than most of their contemporaries. This time though it feels like that charm has worn off, and we are left with another re-tread of tired old tropes.
Over the course of their career All Time Low have always shown ambition and have tested themselves creatively whilst maintaining the essence of what they are. This is their first release that feels like a lazy replica and that almost makes it stand out more.
They may want us to tell them that they’re alive, but with this album, you find yourself asking if it’s time for the band re-evaluate, do something drastic or they may well see themselves become the villains.
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