Rejects' latest album produces first No. 1 hit
The All-American Rejects' current album, "When the World Comes Down," has been hailed by some as the band's most ambitious, progressive and, perhaps, best album yet.
But at one point, guitarist Mike Kennerty had a slightly different opinion of it.
"It was a mismatch of (stuff) that was all over the place," Kennerty says, recalling the first time he heard a rough cut of the third album from his band, which will perform Wednesday at the Murat Theatre as part of "Z99.5 Jingle Jam" presented by radio station WZPL-FM (99.5).
"When the World Comes Down" marks the first time the Stillwater, Okla., quartet has strayed from the straightforward pop-rock that produced catchy tunes like "Swing, Swing" and "Dirty Little Secret."
This time around, All-American Rejects opted for a few bells and whistles and decided to forgo some traditional instrumentation for more computer-generated sound effects.
It appears to have paid off.
"When the World Comes Down" spawned the band's biggest hit to date with pop-punk breakup anthem "Gives You Hell."
"We've been very, very fortunate throughout our careers and have been fairly successful," Kennerty says. "It's crazy that seven years in, we have our first No. 1 song. That's something we never thought we'd get to. We thought we'd hit a peak, so it's crazy that we've gone beyond that."
Kennerty says he and bandmates Tyson Ritter, Nick Wheeler and Chris Gaylor didn't have a specific vision for "When the World Comes Down."
"This time, there happened to be this variety of songs that were unlike anything we've written before," he says. "I suppose it's because we're not a band that continually writes. We write and record, then we tour for a few years when there's no real concentration on writing. So when we get back to it, it's a fresh thing. Somehow it all came together."
As popular as "Gives You Hell," "Swing, Swing" and "Dirty Little Secret" have become among radio programmers, the musicians aren't weary of the exposure, according to Kennerty.
"We're so removed (from everything) when we're on tour, we're never really able to wrap our heads around how much the song's getting played," he says. "We hear people telling us, 'Man, I hear it all the time.' But for us it's a rare thing when we do happen upon it. I usually hear it when I'm going into stores or something."
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