All Time Low They are back, and they do so looking optimistically to the future. after his previous ‘Wake Up Sunshine’ (20) that could not sound live as much as the band would have wanted, now present ‘Tell Me I’m Alive’a new album that seeks to be the consolidation of this new stage that began a few years ago.
New, more theatrical sounds, a strong keyboard presence and his formula for making danceable hits with melodic riffs. We spoke to Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat about the band’s future plans.
New album, new tour. How do you face this stage that is just beginning now?
Very excited. It had been a while since we released new music. Last time with ‘Wake Up Sunshine’, the pandemic prevented us from touring much so now we are making up for lost time, especially abroad. not only celebrating ‘Wake Up Sunshine’, but adding to the ‘Tell Me I’m Alive’ celebration. It’s weird because Wake Up Sunshine’s songs haven’t played much live, so it feels like a double celebration.
“One of the things we leaned on the most on this record was theatricality. And obviously the piano is an important element in many of the songs”
In Tell Me I’m Alive you dare with new elements that we had not seen in your previous works, perhaps what is most shocking is that piano right when the album starts…
I think it came naturally. One of the things we relied on the most on this record was theatricality. And obviously the piano is an important element in many of the songs. So having the ability to bring it to the stage is what helped us write a lot of these songs. We have a guy who tours with us and he started playing the piano for us on stage. And I think that got us thinking, “Well, now we can do this live, so we might as well incorporate more of this into our songs for the record.” I think that led us in this somewhat playful, different direction.
Another of the songs in which this search for new elements is seen is ‘I’d be fine If I never Saw You Again’, how did you work on this particular song?
The song came about in a fun way. We were talking about someone, I said that line and Alex has a feeling that it could be made into a good song. A bit of piano, a catchy riff… I like to think that it’s a song that also has that Old School spirit. Actually, it’s been a bit of the dynamic we’ve followed throughout the record, we had a good time without thinking about it too much, and, in the end, I think ‘Tell Me I’m Alive’ has become a great amalgamation of some of our latest albums.
And besides that desire to create hits is noticeable, do you think Sleepwalking can follow in the footsteps of Monsters?
I think when we wrote “Sleepwalking,” there was this energy in the room where everyone looks at each other and you know you have something special. I don’t want to say that the other songs aren’t special, but it was a similar feeling when we wrote “Monsters” and when we wrote “Sleepwalking”, we said to ourselves that this is the first thing people need to hear from this new album. And it was very defining for the record.
And also speaking of “Monsters”, I think it marked a before and after in your career.
It was a bittersweet feeling, we had this song that was working so well but we were just starting to face the pandemic. It’s a shame, because some things have changed, no doubt. It was very interesting because at the time it was doing very well on the radio in the US, we could see that there was a reaction and that it was becoming a hit for us, quote unquote. But we couldn’t check that reaction live. Usually the first thing you feel is that you are going to a concert and everyone is singing the loudest song. But finally we could see that, although we have been late, it is one of our latest songs that is being liked the most.
“There are people who come to our shows because the first song they’ve heard is ‘Monsters’ and then they discover our old material and not the other way around”
It seems that lately we are experiencing a resurgence of all those Pop punk bands that marked an era and are permeating the new generations. For example, Games We Play accompanying you on this tour could be one of those bands that you have influenced.
The fact that we’ve been able to stay together for so long and that people start their band because of us and all that or get influenced by us is amazing, although it’s not one of the reasons we started this band. Still, it reminds me of the bands that influenced us: Blink-182, Green Day and all those bands, so it’s an honor for sure.
Over the years, you have been introducing all these new influences into your discography. How do you balance past and present live?
I think what surprises us the most is that the songs from our past, from the depths of our catalogue, still resonate with people almost as much as some of the new ones. And I think what’s really refreshing and amazing for us is that this year we’re celebrating 20 years as a band and we’ve found our balance. Knowing that there are people who come to concerts who love ‘Dear Maria Count Me In’ love ‘Stay Awake’ and love ‘Vegas’ from our first album, but they also sing along to ‘Monsters’ and ‘Sleepwalking’. I think it’s a dream situation for a group. There are so many situations in which some artists are forced to play old songs all the time, creating discomfort because in the end you want to keep moving forward and see how your music evolves. We have been very lucky because our music has resounded throughout and from the stage I don’t feel the difference: People come to our concerts because the first song they heard is ‘Monsters’ and then they discover our old material and not the other way around.
Bringing back old songs should also feel like a ‘back in time’ sort of thing.
Yes, but in a good way. When we played ‘Let it Roll’ again for a second I felt like we were transported back to 2006, when we were writing these songs that we didn’t know where they would take us. With ‘Dear Maria’ I don’t have that feeling because we play it all the time, but definitely, when you go back to other songs that aren’t so well known, you feel a special nostalgia.
Now that you have returned to Europe, what are you looking forward to the most from these shows?
Seeing the public’s reaction to ‘Sleepwalking’ and the new songs is incredible, especially since we are so far from home. This year we want to make up for lost time, be on tour for most of the year and relive life on a bus all together, reconnect with our fans and feel the wheel turning again.
