All Time Low - Dirty Work Indeed?

Dirty Work is the fourth full-length studio album for pop-punk band All Time Low, first formed in 2003 in Maryland, USA. Dirty Work was released by Interscope Records on June 7, 2011. It’s predecessors include Nothing Personal released in 2009, So Wrong, It’s Right in 2007 and their debut The Party Scene in 2005, along with an array of EPs, singles and live recordings.

The first single, ‘I Feel Like Dancin’’, was released in the US prior to the album on April 5th, 2011. The music video was released on May 23rd, 2011 providing an insight into the witty humour of the band with satirical properties regarding life in the music industry. Even if you can’t appreciate the clever satire used to reassure uncertain fans about All Time Low’s progression to a major record label, the video is worth a viewing just to see the amusing imitations of contemporary pop videos, including Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ and Katy Perry’s ‘California Gurls’.

However, the measure of an album is not by how comfortable the band members are with their own sexuality that they are happy to wear pink wigs and heels, but rather by the actual music that blasts through the stereo. So if you happened to find yourself as lost as I did at first listen, it’s time for a track-by-track analysis.

The first song of an album should say a lot about what is to come, as it’s the beginning of the experience. ‘Do You Want Me (Dead?)’ is a pretty decent opening track that is very pop-punk, perhaps bordering on pop, with a fun hook that makes you want to move. However, if it wasn’t the first song, it could become lost within the rest of the album.

Secondly is the first single, ‘I Feel Like Dancin’’, well-placed to draw listeners in with something more familiar. It is a bit more poppy and truly does make you want to dance, but on a more critical note, the lyrics are very homogenized and the reference to pop artist Ke$ha, even though it is used as amusing mockery, seems like it’s trying a little too hard to relate to modern audiences. Though it is a fun song, the video is what really makes it, and a really good song should be able to stand on its own.

The third track, ‘Forget About It’, is a little too reminiscent of Nothing Personal. The verses are quite unoriginal, but the first line of the chorus is done with a wonderful build up that evokes excitement. Unfortunately, the rest of the chorus stays on that one level rather than taking it that one step further to something really special. The dialogue in the middle of the song, though it’s meant to be amusing, sort of ruins it for me. With a few changes it could be a really great song, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Next up is ‘Guts’, which is one of the tracks that I can’t really make up my mind about. The song features vocalist Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds, and although her voice goes well with Gaskarth’s (Alex Gaskarth, lead vocalist of All Time Low), this song doesn’t really make use of the additional feminine vocals the way that it could. However, it seems like the song that has the most potential to grow on me.

‘Time Bomb’ is up next, also holding a feel very reminiscent of Nothing Personal (and has a build up similar to the song ‘Hello, Brooklyn’ in particular), but also is a recognizable All Time Low style. Overall it’s quite an enjoyable song, though the interesting metaphor of the time bomb is used in different ways throughout the song, which can become lyrically confusing.

Following is ‘Just the Way I’m Not’, which I think is my least favourite track from the album. Both the intro and the chorus are dull and anthem-like, and alongside boring lyrics and a generic sound they make the song overall forgettable.

Thankfully, the next song is ‘Under a Paper Moon’, which has an interesting sound that is mysteriously different to the rest of the album. It’s danceable but with meaningful lyrics that are relatable to the target audience of young adults.

The next track, ‘Return the Favor’, is a little bit of a musical question mark. The slow, suspenseful intro maintains an unidentifiable ethnic element, later reinforced by the unexpected inclusion of orchestral strings. The verses are interesting, though the slow chorus with simplistic lyrics is a bit of a disappointment. Add the surprising piano outro and you’ve got a strange musical combination that leaves you slightly unsure, though it does make for a more memorable song.

In at number nine is ‘No Idea’, which verges on the ‘pop’ edge of the pop-punk genre. This song has really nice vocals, though it is probably more auto tuned than is necessary for Gaskarth’s voice, and the chorus showcases his vocal range more than any other song on the album. It’s quite a lovely song in a different sort of way for the band, and personally I’d be interested in an acoustic version.

‘A Daydream Away’ is a fitting track to follow as the slowest song of the album, showing the band’s versatility compared to the upbeat dance numbers. Even though it’s a very simple song, it’s a nice acoustic inclusion to the album with a particularly beautiful chorus.

The penultimate song on the album is ‘That Girl’, which seems very strange to follow the last song, and in this way creates a noticeable structural error in the album. It’s too auto tuned and somehow just doesn’t work. The lyrics are difficult to warm to and I feel like I’ve heard the same song a hundred times before.

The last track, ‘Heroes’, has a classic All Time Low chorus that makes you want to move, though the fast and busy verses are forgettable.

The iTunes deluxe version of the album contains four bonus tracks. The first, ‘Get Down On Your Knees and Tell Me You Love Me’, has a fun and seductive hook. It’s sexier than most of the songs on the album with a naughtily suggestive title to reinforce it. The next is ‘My Only One’, which has a very electronic feel that I expected to throw me off, but I was pleasantly surprised. Gaskarth’s voice sounds refreshingly different, and the song has a quieter and somewhat more mature feel to it. The next bonus track is ‘Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass’, which is an average fun track, but its specificity makes it unnecessary to be on the album, even as a bonus track, and would do better as simply a Christmas single. Lastly is ‘Bad Enough For You’, which is quite average. Compared to other tracks it’s just not a stand out. It works as a bonus track, though doesn’t really send the album out with a final bang.

Dirty Work has been met with very mixed reviews, and the subjective nature of music leaves it up to every listener to make up their own opinion. This album certainly shows how the band has grown, and if this is a commercial kink in the road for All Time Low then there’s no doubt they’ll just pick themselves right back up again.