"We've got these big city dreams," says Mr. Gaskarth himself. As the poster boys for everything possible in Baltimore, All Time Low has acheive more than most bands could hope for with an amazing fanbase to boot. But with the release of "Put Up or Shut Up EP" they've got us alittle scared. Hopeless Records has got themselves a new band of pop punk perfection to mold, but this EP hardly shows the potential of the boys.
Although "Put Up or Shut Up EP" contains five songs from what could be called All Time Low's own "Take This To Your Grave," "The Party Scene" if "Put Up or Shut Up EP" was supposed to be their "From Under The Cork Tree" it's definetly a 'Sophmore Slump.' With a radio sound TRL producers would have wet dreams about, "Put Up or Shut Up EP" sounds more over produced than it ever needed to be. With the Release of "The Party Scene" it showed that these boys can stand on their own and was especially noticable if you've had the opportunity to see the them live. The songs on the album match the live show. Which will be hard to do now with the uneccessary vocalizing like in the beginning track five, "The Party Scene," the part that is supposed to showcase Alex's powerhouse of a voice.
All Time Low can write some incredible lyrics, "I know she hopes I choke on this last drink, drop dead before my influence gets to her head..." with cynasism that will make you cringe, however, the lyrics in "Put Up or Shut Up" have all be heard before, and heard better. It's obvious this EP is supposed to give a larger audience the experience of All Time Low, but us back here in Maryland know the truth and for one thing, we can let it slide that they don't play "Running from Lions" acoustically live, but it's a slap in the face to hear it the way it is on the new EP, although the stinging is resolved sightly by what may be the most unchanged track on the EP, "Lullabies."
But I mean, "Hey kid[s], you've got alot of potential," but if they're going to change songs that no one felt should be changed, it would be better for them to go with some new ones, preferably ones that sound like "The Coffee Shop Soundtrack" as opposed to "Jasey Rae." "I've never told a lie, and that makes me a liar," What did you just say Alex? Jasey Rae just doesn't seem to fit in the album at all, it sticks out like a sore thumb, and only serves a purpose to sound whiny and boring. The order of the album does not seem quite right either. They seems slapped together in any which way, not putting into consideration how a listener will feel after each track then progressing as they did in "The Party Scene."
Basically, let's just hope that "Put Up or Shut Up EP" is just a practice test, because we're all asking of All Time Low make Baltimore the new Chicago, and this just doesn't seem up to par. Even to those who don't know every word to "The Party Scene," All Time Low with this EP sounds at most a step above mediocre, like every other Fall Out Boy knock-off. Alex's voice is still amazing, the lyrics are still great, the music still sounds impecably structured. It just sounds off, like they're trying too hard, but I guess we'll just have to hope they'll be "cleaning up the messes" that they made."
3 out of 5 [CO]