All Time Low is a band I’ve definitely grown alongside over the past decade. When they were more pop punk, I was more pop punk. When they started going more pop, I was also going more pop.
Last Young Renegade is All Time Low’s seventh full length album, following a series of, in my opinion, fantastic albums. I’m honestly always impressed by how these guys seem to never put out a subpar, or even par album. This new album opens on its title track. The song packs a feel-good vibe into a passionate, almost lovesick bop. It feels fresh and new for All Time Low, a feeling that sticks through the whole record. Synth-filled “Dirty Laundry” was the lead single, and talks about loving the people around you for not just their positives, but also their negatives. “Nice2KnoU” creates a fun, upbeat sing along that calls back to the band’s roots of living in a van, playing dive bars, and crashing on strangers’ floors. The next song, “Life Of The Party,” brings those same feelings, but has a darker tone, relating to self-doubt and losing who you are, like with “In a sea of strangers, I can’t find me anymore.” Which takes us into “Nightmares,” my personal favorite. It’s somber, raw, emotional, and Alex Gaskarth (vocalist, guitarist) somehow always manages to make his voice sound relatable and comforting. On the contrary, “Ground Control” is my least favorite track on Last Young Renegade, and might be one of my least favorite All Time Low songs period. As much as I love the message “I promise you that we will be fine and have / The universe on your side when / You’re out in space” and “Don’t you be afraid, (don’t you be afraid) no / If you start floating away,” I find the song lackluster and dragged out longer than it needs to be. While I don’t believe this is by any means All Time Low’s best album, Last Young Renegade is still set in the running for one of the top records of 2017.
Overall: At this point, I’m not sure All Time Low even has the capability to release a bad record.
9/10
Review by Shane Haley
Crown Times Music 