By Nada Abdulla Almenhali
ABU DHABI – All Time Low released its sixth album, “Future Hearts,” on April 3. The group is an American pop-punk band that started in 2003.
What’s so great about this Baltimore band is that before All Time Low took off, the members were just 14-year-old amateurs making music. They then became a professional band in high school.
“Future Hearts” comes after the album “Don’t Panic,” which included the hit single “A Love Like War,” featuring Vic Fuentes. That received song of the year in the Alternative Press Music awards. The band was nominated in four categories and was awarded the Philanthropic Artist award.
Before reviewing the new album, let me say this: “Don’t Panic” was when the lads kind of changed their style a bit. If you listen to their other work, the music and the lyrics were not as mature as they have become. It felt like that album was experimenting with a new style of music, and it was amazing to hear the breakthrough.
You can’t deny that this band has a distinct sound, not to mention lead vocalist Alex Gaskarth’s vocal chords, which are very special. After “Don’t Panic,” they took three years before they released this new album. Finally, “Future Hearts” was born, and it is phenomenal.
“Something’s Gotta Give” is the opening single, and I was questioning the quality of the album at first. After a while, I grew to like the song. Then another single was released. “Kids in the Dark” is interesting. “They left us alone, the kids in the dark, to burn off forever, or light up a spark, we come together, state of the art.”
It felt like the album was going with a theme at first, but then it wasn’t once the album was released. Unlike “Don’t Panic,” which had a theme and the songs were connected, “Future Hearts” is basically an album full of amazing music that is unrelated.
And that doesn’t matter. As soon as I heard all the impressive songs, I ordered the vinyl version. It was worth the money spent, and honestly all the songs are amazing. My personal favorites are “Dancing With a Wolf” and “Edge of Tonight.”
All in all, this band from Maryland has matured and is probably one of the best pop music groups out there. The fact that they are still ongoing means something. With their inseparable band bond, and amazing music, hopefully we will have a half dozen more albums to come.
This story was originally published on June 9, 2015. It was re-uploaded on Dec. 25, 2020.
