The All-American Rejects (CD - 2002)

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.

Big hooks abound on this forceful debut by power pop whiz kids Nick Wheeler and Tyson Ritter. Though not yet old enough to legally buy an alcoholic drink in the year 2002, All-American Rejects are capable songwriters, accomplished vocalists, and skilled instrumentalists. Guitar-driven and underpinned with a humane-sounding drum machine cranking out frenetic backbeats, each cut on this self-titled debut brims with harmonies that recall the early Who and classic Beach Boys. Bolstered by the brash bar band bravado akin to the Replacements, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Fastball in all their ragged glory, All-American Rejects passionately render songs about girls, love, self-doubt, and youthful abandon. Cuts such as "Too Far Gone" employ a sympathetic orchestral backdrop, while tracks including "Drive Away," "My Paper Heart," and "One More Sad Song" prove that loud guitars and a broken heart make great rock & roll. A talented band destined for great things, All American Rejects are primed to be embraced by the masses. ~ Tom Semioli

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. minimize