Music
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: All Time Low – Wake Up, Sunshine
The Baltimore quartet refresh their classic sound with their jubilant eighth studio album.
When it comes to bright and breezy summer jams, Baltimore pop-punks All Time Low have them in spades. Wake Up, Sunshine, their eighth studio album – and second on label Fueled by Ramen – radiates with old school pop-punk.
Their rousing party punk-rock sound is a celebration of the band’s united recording process, a product of living together again during the album’s creation. The lyrics detail the challenges of starting over.
This upbeat follow-up to 2017’s Last Young Renegade is reminiscent of their humble beginnings, none more obvious than album closer Basement Noise. With an overarching theme of self-acceptance – something which feels like it would come naturally for a band who’ve been together for almost two decades – their vulnerability can be heard as clear as their confidence.
Reflective of the quartet’s past with a bright look into the future, Wake Up, Sunshine in part focusses on lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter Alex Gaskarth’s exploration of himself, ultimately emerging from a dark place with a new, rejuvenated perspective.
The album’s sound harks back to the late-’90s and early-’00s punk rock realm (see the great intro of Melancholy Kaleidoscope or the explosive riffs of Getaway Green), paired with their familiar light-natured lyrics. Still, the addition of new-age synths gives their overall sound a fresh edge.
All Time Low have consistently provided a beaming stream of positivity through some of the catchiest pop-punk tunes of the last 17 years, and Wake Up, Sunshine is no different. It shines brighter with every listen.
Tracklisting
1. Some Kind of Disaster
2. Sleeping In
3. Getaway Green
4. Melancholy Kaleidoscope
5. Trouble Is
6. Wake Up, Sunshine
7. Monsters (featuring blackbear)
8. Pretty Venom (Interlude)
9. Favorite Place (featuring The Band CAMINO)
10. Safe
11. January Gloom (Seasons, Pt. 1)
12. Clumsy
13. Glitter & Crimson
14. Summer Daze (Seasons, Pt. 2)
15. Basement Noise
Listen to Wake Up, Sunshine on Spotify: