It’s been nicely over a decade since the All-American Rejects launched their final full-length, 2012’s Children within the Avenue. However as a substitute of merely revisiting the shiny pop-rock system that turned them into staples of the 2000s, their new album, Sandbox, feels much more unpredictable.
That stressed power has already outlined the rollout for Sandbox. After teasing followers with the title monitor final 12 months, the band doubled down on the chaos. They launched their Home Social gathering tour, performing in every single place from a fan’s yard in Nashville to a Sheetz gasoline station in Pittsburgh. They launched their very own online game for “Search Social gathering!” and made a Christmas-movie parody video for “Get This.”
Learn extra: 10 most criminally underrated All-American Rejects songs
There’s nonetheless a variety of signature AAR throughlines on Sandbox — sarcasm, infectious hooks, and the identical reckless drive that made folks first fall in love with the band a long time in the past. Under, Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler take us inside Sandbox monitor by monitor, breaking down the tales behind every track.
“Simple Come, Simple Go”
“Simple Come Simple Go” was written in an air of ferocity that solely sure songs can fly free in. My mind was begging to purge about somebody from my previous who by no means acquired their correct due. It’s a track a few weathered love, thunder and lighting after the sunshine and rainbows. —Tyson Ritter
This was a tune that Tyson and our former keyboardist Scott Chesak began some time again. Scott despatched me the demo session, and we dug in and made it a Rejects monitor that simply occurred to suit completely on Sandbox. —Nick Wheeler
“Get This”
I wrote that hook for the Eels. E was attempting to complete his document, and he was like, “Do you might have any extra songs?” I mentioned no, however I used to be driving my son to high school that morning, and proper after I dropped him off, I heard the refrain for “Get This,” and [it] simply got here out. It was going quick, so I acquired residence, and in 10 minutes, it was performed. I despatched it to him, and he was like, “I don’t suppose I can pull that off.” And I used to be like, “Good, as a result of I would like it.” That track, within the spirit of this document, was simply pure enjoyable. I confirmed Nick the demo, and he liked it. It got here collectively the quickest out of all of the songs. Tremendous simple to place collectively. The great ones are simple. Typically all the things a few track like that’s simply simple. It’s the place we now have all the time rung the bell as a band, only a enjoyable track. It doesn’t imply anybody any hurt. —Tyson Ritter
This track is a good instance of what might have been a superbly polished pop/rock track, nevertheless it was extra enjoyable to lean into extra uncooked performances towards a enjoyable drum loop. —Nick Wheeler
“Search Social gathering!”
This track is about issues feeling “out of stability” and “out of whack.” Feeling just like the enjoying subject is commonly uneven and unfair. Whether or not in love, life, friendships, household, or simply present in a world full of pleasure and chaos, there’s typically somebody on cloud 9 and somebody attempting to chop them down. Mania, melancholy, pleasure, love, and damage are all feelings expressed in “Search Social gathering!” Whereas not about anybody or something particularly, the juxtaposition between distress and a clown at a celebration, serving to information somebody out of the darkish and into the sunshine, is the true message in “Search Social gathering!” —Tyson Ritter
This can be a deeply private track to Tyson that didn’t actually stand out to me at first, however after approaching it within the studio, it grew to become considered one of my favorites on the document, and we love enjoying this one stay. —Nick Wheeler
“Eggshell Faucet Dancer”
That is the primary tune we formally produced as a threesome with Scott, and it afforded us the power to create in our personal areas and confirmed us that we might work collectively remotely, which is how a lot of the document was recorded. “Eggshell” is one other one that might’ve been extra produced and polished, however we selected as a substitute to embrace the chaos. It additionally has considered one of my favourite outros we’ve ever performed, full with sirens that handed by the studio once we had been recording the quietest a part of the track. —Nick Wheeler
“Inexperienced Isn’t Yellow”
This one is all about rising up in Oklahoma, and it’s the proper time capsule for our expertise there as children. —Nick Wheeler
“Sandbox”
It was the title of the primary track, after which it grew to become the world that we’re constructing with the document. To exhaust the literal facet of the metaphor, you go to a Sandbox and might discover every kind of loopy shit in it. I believe this document is ideal for that. I’ve a Peter Pan complicated, and I believe that’s what retains me so enthusiastic about writing music. It’s the one place the place after I know I’m doing it accurately, it’s as a result of I’m doing it by the curiosity of the search, and never the intention of the end result. So, I believe this document is bearing on some issues which can be reconciling youth, lastly having to face by yourself two ft as an grownup, and in addition going through the surface world, which is simply so oppressive. This can be a document that has helped me survive in these fashionable occasions. Not solely the place I’m in my life, however on the planet. —Tyson Ritter
That is the primary track we recorded for the album. Tyson and I produced and recorded it ourselves in my Nashville studio, and it knowledgeable the place we had been going to go musically for this document — extra critical topics carried out loudly with feeling whereas embracing the imperfections. —Nick Wheeler
“King Kong”
For me, that track is about leaving LA. I believe I made LA this monster. I’m from a small city in Oklahoma, and I moved again residence. That track was written there, and it’s nearly… you possibly can comply with the lyrics. I fell into an attention-grabbing crowd after I acquired right here, and it simply turned me off from each facet of life, as a result of it didn’t match me. Simply the quintessential “I’m in LA in my 20s and early 30s” life. It’s a city the place everyone seems to be chasing the identical business, and there’s no actual life about it for me that I skilled till I left. That track got here collectively shortly. The great ones occur quick. And the manufacturing, I believe it’s probably the most collaborative track on the document. When Nick acquired in with it, he introduced high quality to the track that I didn’t see coming, nevertheless it felt pure. Regardless that we didn’t method it how we used to, it felt like a mixture of our efforts. —Tyson Ritter
We all the time mentioned we’d by no means transfer to LA, however after all we ultimately did, and this track is about Tyson’s expertise there. It’s traditional Rejects within the sense that each time Tyson and I handed the track forwards and backwards to one another, we had been capable of elevate the track and make it higher. We stored including to it nicely into the blending course of, and for me it’s the standout monitor. —Nick Wheeler
“Clothesline”
Tyson confirmed us a demo of this track on a ship, and it was immediately a vibe. We leaned into that floating feeling and rocked softly with clear guitars and many “ooh’s.” We truly simply filmed a music video for this track… on a ship! —Nick Wheeler
“Lemonade”
This was the final track we recorded for “Sandbox”, though it existed in some kind for nearly two years. It was within the first batch of concepts Tyson despatched me once we determined to document new music, nevertheless it was overshadowed by songs like “Eggshell” and “King Kong.” However as soon as we dug in, Tyson made some lyrical modifications, we completed the association, and it grew to become the proper quantity to spherical out the document. —Nick Wheeler
“For Mama”
That track is hard. It virtually didn’t make it onto the document. Actually, I’ll be totally open about this. The one factor no person tells you about life is that the older you get, your excellent household begins to indicate its underbelly. Everybody has to undergo by life, and also you don’t suppose that about your loved ones. You simply take into consideration your individual expertise. The factor is that we preserve telling ourselves what matches to make an entire thought on this document.
To me, that was by no means the intention. Nick and I had been similar to, “This must be enjoyable for us.” Defining what this document wants, song-wise, has been probably the most ache within the ass course of for me. I believe all of it ought to be on there as a result of it’s all a part of it. There’s one factor about curating an expertise with traditional vinyl, sit down, put the document in your hand, and also you wanna really feel prefer it’s an entire thought. However I welcome each track for this document as a result of I like all of them. We had been like, “We’re gonna kick ‘For Mama’ till the following factor.” However by the point we kick it to the following factor, I’m gonna hate that track a lot. That’s what I concern with delaying that track. The one factor that issues about this document is that it’s a bookmark of time, and that track was part of that bookmark. —Tyson Ritter
I left Tyson alone within the studio for an hour and got here again to him having written this whole factor on a paper towel. I actually needed to problem myself to create a somber, virtually haunting fingerpicking guitar half, which has by no means been my robust swimsuit. We acquired some glorious horn gamers and an accordionist in Nashville to contribute as nicely, their devices virtually performing because the completely different characters Tyson is chatting with all through the verses. —Nick Wheeler
“Staring Again at Me”
Of all of the songs, that’s the wildest expertise I’ve ever had writing a track. We had been in a studio monitoring Chris’ drums for this Johnny Money cowl that Warner Chappel needed us to do, and we had been like, “Fuck it, perhaps we’ll get an Olympics business or some shit.” So, that was the target for the day. My buddy did this film, and he mentioned, “I can’t afford this track.” There have been no stakes. It was me and Chris, and I began writing it within the management room, simply this acoustic opening factor. I used to be like, “Let’s see what occurs when Chris will get on the market and hits the drums.” And I name that the forgotten track. That was the title of it with the engineer. I used to be like, “I don’t even keep in mind the final part.” I’d write it, he would play alongside, and I’d be like, “Good, let’s transfer on.” And I’d write the lyrics for that part, and we’d transfer on.
It was all written in a stream of consciousness. I keep in mind we had the studio till 8, and it was 4 once we began writing the track and monitoring it. By the top, it was performed. I don’t even know play the bass half on that track. We had been writing to it because it was flying out, however we had been holding it proper by the tail, and it was drawing us by the method. I didn’t know if we had been gonna get something, not to mention something for the Rejects. However I preferred it, so I despatched it, and I believe it’s one of many coolest songs for this band. It’s so completely different. It offers me hope that bands like us, a band that has been round for some time, can discover one thing that feels alive inside you that’s actual and vibrant. It’s not your radio hit track, and I don’t give a shit. That is reality. That is actual and pure, and it’s true, and it’s alive. We did this. That’s cool to seek out in your self as a author. —Tyson Ritter
What began as an impromptu jam session between Tyson and Chris became one of many hardest-hitting songs on the document with a extremely attention-grabbing association. This one holds the document for many areas all through the recording course of, nevertheless it was all the time the proper nearer for the document. —Nick Wheeler
