The All-American Rejects

Performer: The All-American Rejects
Engineer: Tim O'Heir
Producer: Tim O'Heir
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: The All-American Rejects: Tyson Ritter (vocals, bass); Nick Wheeler (guitar, keyboards, drums, programming). Recorded at Mission Sound and Headgear Studio, Brooklyn, New York. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Audio Mixer: Tim O'Heir. Recording information: Headgear Studio, Brooklyn, NY (2002); Mission Sound Studios, Brooklyn, NY (2002). Arranger: The All-American Rejects. Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler, the two college-age clean-cut men who form the nexus of the All-American Rejects, have a knack for driving home a pop hook. Clearly weaned on power pop's history from the Beach Boys and Big Star to the Cars and Weezer and other more modern proponents, the Oklahoma outfit serves up gentle pop radiance with a hint of Replacements-style brashness on its self-titled debut. The All-American Rejects' songs capture a youthful simplicity without slipping into juvenile lyrics like many bands with a similar sound. There is an endearing innocence in tunes like "My Paper Heart" with its simple opening entreaty "please just don't play with me/my paper heart will bleed" over insistent acoustic guitar before a quiet storm replete with a tympani-sounding instrument. Ornate instrumentation abounds, but it augments the music, never seeming forced or out or place, likely a combination of prescience on the pair's part and the experienced hand of producer-engineer Tim O'Heir (Sebadoh, Superdrag, Possum Dixon). In fact, the album's hallmark is a bewitching, summery, infectious pop consistency.

Spin (4/03, p.107) - "Pop professionalism meets emo's romantic amateurism..." - Grade: A-

Out of the backwaters of Oklahoma rose the power-pop clatter of the All-American Rejects, whose 2002 self-titled debut album, released on the indie Doghouse Records, won a huge fan base and the attention of several major labels. In a field crowded with Blink-182 imitators, the band stood slightly apart by favoring ornate instrumentation, transparently honest lyrics, and a real knack for hooks and sing-along choruses. Although it took several years for the band to record and release a follow-up, 2005's MOVE ALONG was a big hit that yielded a charting single, the infectious "Dirty Little Secret."

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