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All Time Low are no longer the new kids on pop punk’s block. With almost 15 years as a band under their belt, they’ve succeeded where so many else have failed. Without succumbing to pop punk’s suffocating Peter Pan complex, the Baltimore boys have embraced growing up, and it’s working.
HYS: I think what’s always made All Time Low so special is your ability to maintain such honesty and integrity in the message you’re conveying. Last Young Renegade seems like your most realised and mature lyrical delivery to date. What sort of experiences inspired the narrative behind the album?
Alex Gaskarth: I think a lot of it has to do with us growing up, we’ve been through a lot over the past ten plus years of being in this band and a lot of it was in our formative years. We started this band when we were just out of high school and now we’re in our late twenties, so it’s gotten to that point where all of our growth has been in the spotlight, with each other and a lot of it on tour. I think that all of those components together just create this really crazy way of growing up so I think the content of this new record is a reflection of that. This record is something that we wanted to make a statement with in terms of doing something a little bit different sonically and thematically. We were making this conscious decision to grow and change and we thought the lyrics should reflect that, so a lot of the songs ended up being about our growth and our change and how we’re not the same people we were when we were 18 making So Wrong, It’s Right. It comes at such a pivotal time as well, with So Wrong, It’s Right turning ten years old, it’s such a reflection back to that record and it’s been a journey. All of that came together in this perfect storm to create what we have with Last Young Renegade.
HYS: Reflecting on that journey, you’re at this point now where fans that were there during the release of Put Up Or Shut Up are growing up. At the same time you’re attracting a whole new generation of fans. How do you find a happy medium between appealing to both ends of the spectrum?
Alex: It’s hard to find that balance and really, it’s just about writing from the heart and writing what feels right in that moment. One of the things we’ve learnt as a band after all this time, is that, the songs that resonate the most and the songs that mean the most to people are the ones that are written honestly and the ones that we can stand behind 100%, so that was a big component of it. We didn’t want to put anything out that we felt like we’re not going to love for the unforeseeable future when playing it live. I think part of it’s just natural, I mean we’re older and I think our fans are a little bit older now and they’re ready for growth and they’re kind of maturing with us. I think for new fans, we’re just keeping it fresh and we’re not writing the same record over and over again so people can attach themselves to the records as they jump on. It’s really hard to pinpoint, I consider us very lucky that we have these new fans and old fans who are very active
I went back and listened to a lot stuff from my childhood like The Cure and Depeche Mode, and even Prince and Bowie.
[ Alex Gaskarth ]
HYS: Last Young Renegade shows such an awareness for current trends in pop music—listening to it I picked up on everything from Lorde, to the National to even the self titled Paramore album. Who were you listening to during the recording process?
Alex: I think for a long time people have typecast our band because we come from a world of Warped Tour and pop punk, sometimes people lump us in with a very small world of music and people must think “well they only listen to bands of that genre”. But that’s never really been where we’ve come from, and I think this record goes a little above and beyond. I went back and listened to a lot stuff from my childhood like The Cure and Depeche Mode, and even Prince and Bowie. It’s so cool you say the National because they’re one my favourite bands! A lot of stuff people wouldn’t expect us to be listening to ended up happening on the record and I think we just wanted to grow outside what people generalise us as.
HYS: Last Young Renegade definitely transcends the realms of pop punk. Being the leaders of the scene, do you feel a responsibility to keep it fresh and to continue ‘reinventing it’ in a way?
Alex: That’s a really tough question, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt beholden to it and I don’t think we really owe anything to a genre. I think there are plenty of amazing bands that are doing pop punk, way more ‘pop punky’ than we are and that’s awesome! I kind of leave the genre stuff up for people to base. I try to concern myself a little less with it and just make music that feels honest and good to us. One of the biggest things we had in mind was making an album that was gonna round out our show, songs that we could take into these arenas that we’ve started playing and that would feel appropriate and would create ebbs and flows in the live show. It was all about finding different dynamics and finding new ways to do what our band does. I think what’s really interesting is that, looking back, every time we’ve put out an album, there’re always been a mixed reaction, there are always people who are like ‘yeah I’m down for this’ and people who are like ‘what is this, this isn’t pop punk’. What’s so funny about it is when Weightless came out that’s what people said and now that’s one of our signature songs, but the first round of comments on the track were like ‘what is this Postal Service beat’.
HYS: At your show the new songs translated so well live; the perfect opportunity to showcase how cinematic and soaring the soundscapes on the tracks are. Now that the band has graduated to full time arena shows, how do you take into account the ‘live experience’ whilst writing?
Alex: I think a big part of it was that the lyrics were coming from a really personal place, and the music, we wanted it to feel kind of like a soundtrack in this universe we were building and we really wanted every song to take people on that journey. That’s why all the videos have been so visual as well. We kind of jokingly call it our ‘Reading & Leeds Moment’, while we were writing the songs we were like ‘What would be an amazing part if you were playing in front of 60,000 people at Reading and suddenly it starts pouring with rain, like, what would be the most epic answer to that’ [Laughs]. Like it’s obviously a joke, but at the same time you kind of have to write for those moments.
I’m just really excited to roll this album out and play Last Young Renegade live and create those moods. It’s a very visual album, so I want to create that experience for people now.
[ Alex Gaskarth ]
HYS: You’ve been a band for almost 15 years now. With such an expansive and down right classic back catalogue, what goes into choosing a tour setlist these days? You bought back Jasey Rae into your set for the Australian tour!
Alex: It’s really hard and it’s honestly the bands biggest point of contention and what we argue about the most! [Laughs] If there’s ever a real argument in All Time Low it’s usually about what songs we should play [Laughs]. It’s just because there are so many and it’s a good problem to have because we have so many records and we kind of have to feature all of them equally. I think we do our best to fit in what everyone wants to hear and because we’re touring Last Young Renegade, we wanted to pay tribute to some of the old stuff, so that’s why Jasey Rae is in there and we’re just trying to spread the love [Laughs]. I’m not gonna lie, it’s tricky coming over here because it’s been awhile since we’ve headlined here, and there are songs that work really well in the States or in Europe that we can tell don’t really connect here, and then there are other songs that connect really well here that don’t resonate as well in other places.
HYS: The last three years have truly seen a massive leap ahead for All Time Low, where to next?
Alex: That’s so tricky, we’re just getting into the thick of this album! I’m just really excited to roll this album out and play Last Young Renegade live and create those moods. It’s a very visual album, so I want to create that experience for people now.
Last Young Renegade is out now through Fueled By Ramen/Warner Music Australia
