How the 2011 album became one of the most forgettable alt rock albums in recent history.
All Time Low (L to R: drummer Rian Dawson, guitarist Jack Barakat,
lead singer Alex Gaskarth, and bassist Zack Merrick)
Unfortunately, in the world of live music not all albums can shine bright. I’m choosing to write this analysis of a bad album on a band who has a lot of great albums, All Time Low; and I’ve chosen them specifically because I don’t feel they deserve good press right now.
I’ve been a big ATL fan for the better part of ten years. I’ve seen them live ten times now, and I used to consider them one of my favorite bands of all time. That changed in November when a video went viral accusing guitarist Jack Barakat of sexual harassment. While the claim sounds like something out of a fanfiction someone would’ve written when they were twelve, it allowed a space for other people to come forward and say that Jack has made them uncomfortable. The band’s response was my final straw. Instead of addressing it and promising to help Jack change his problematic behavior (he hasn’t been accused of doing anything illegal), the band came out and said that it was all false and they were going to pursue legal actions against the accusers. Blindly ignoring 96 other complaints on Tik Tok, for the one clearly manufactured story about SA is not the way to go about winning back the fans they lost.
I’ve found it very hard recently to pick them out of my life. All Time Low has helped shaped me into the person I am today, they’ve helped me grow, helped me overcome hardships, and their music has grown just as I have. Sometimes I play my ATL vinyl when I’m missing them, they can’t make more money off something that was a onetime purchase after all. If any of the artists I write about deserve to be slammed for playing an album bad live, it’s All Time Low. So, he’s my scathing review of 2011’s Dirty Work.
Rocky Foundations
Out of all my favorite bands, Dirty Work has the title of the worst record ever written. That’s not an understatement, the album is bad. It’s very obviously manufactured, and tries to be modern, but 2011 modern is very different and didn’t age well. Songs like “I Feel Like Dancin’” had no room on a rock album, yet it was the lead single. The song literally has a line that says, “Errbody gettin’ crunk.” That’s just the tip of iceberg that could have (and very nearly did) ended All Time Low’s career.
Of the sixteen songs on the album, only eleven have been played live, and four of those have only been recorded as being played live once. That means over half of the songs on the album have not seen the time of day on the live stage. In fact, if you go onto setlist.fm and check out All Time Low’s statistics, of the top twenty-five songs that have been played live, only one song from Dirty Work claims a spot, which was “Time-Bomb.” It’s kind of embarrassing when you’ve played a Blink-182 cover more than almost the entirety of one of your albums. It’s a shame too because ATL puts on great live shows. They’re always energetic and fun, not to mention Gaskarth and Barakat are a formidable comedic duo. It’s probably why I’ve seen them in concert more than any other artist; however, unless they address their issues, that’s where I’ll stay.
Album Breakdown
I have many theories about why Dirty Work was such a bad album. Most of them revolve around lead singer, Alex Gaskarth breaking up with his high school sweetheart (they would later get back together and get married), because the album to was written from the perspective of someone who was bitter and hurt.
There’s a bunch of problematic things about the album, many of which haven’t aged well. There’s a song called “That Girl” which spends the better part of three minutes telling the audience that this girl is such a bitch for not sleeping with Gaskarth. Like I said, not the best look. The thing that stinks is that Dirty Work has one of the best songs ever written by All Time Low on it, but it consistently gets overlooked because of the raging dumpster fire that surrounds it. “Guts” is in my top ten favorite All Time Low songs. They have seven LPs, so making it that high really means something in my book. The song is well written and expresses feelings that are relatable and meaningful to the listener. Oddly the band went five years without playing it live, despite fans begging for it. I don’t think they caved until 2018.
Of the songs on the album, the only real stand out tracks would be, “Do You Want Me (Dead)?” “Guts,” “Time-Bomb,” and “Heroes.” A lot of other people would include “Forget About It,” and “A Daydream Away” onto that list but I’ve always been put off by those songs. “Forget About It” in my opinion just didn’t connect to anything meaningful, and the spoken word portion is not great—it ultimately ruins the song. Like many other young girls, one of my first introductions to All Time Low was “A Daydream Away,” but I’ve outgrown the song. It has distinct vibes of fourteen-year-old’s who think they’re in love. Not to mention that the song is terrible live. The song is what teenagers think is punk.
Alex Gaskarth on The Back to the Future Hearts Tour
November 2015
Photo by Tara Salvati
Issues Playing the Album Live
Another reason for me to be mad at All Time Low is because, even though they’ve played “Time-Bomb” more than any other song off Dirty Work, they don’t give it enough credit. They diminish the value of the song by bringing people onstage for the performance. Usually, Alex and Jack will pick ten people from the crowd and invite them on stage with them for the song. I think it’s in bad taste honestly because these other people ruin the song for the rest of the crowd.
A song I’ve wanted to hear live, but it’s only been played once is “No Idea.” I’ve always thought that the song had potential and that if it was looked at again, was deserving of a second chance. Maybe that’s why they allowed Big Time Rush to sample it and rewrite the worst parts of the song—BTR’s version is better.
Jack Barakat at the So Wrong It's Right 10th Anniversary Shows
December 2017
Photo by Tara Salvati
When All Time Low’s music started hitting the ten-anniversary mark they were doing shows where they’d play it cover-to-cover. They did it for their EP Put Up or Shut Up, and their first two LPs So Wrong, It’s Right and Nothing Personal. I attended one of the So Wrong, It’s Right shows as it’s one of my favorite ATL albums, and it was one of my favorite shows ever—the crowd was rough, and it wasn’t just teenage girls for once. It was people who were 25 and who were actual emo kids in their teens. I find it very telling that they didn’t do a show in 2021 for Dirty Work, considering they did tour that year and there was no mention of the album hitting the ten-year mark. They could've played it off as being a COVID concern, but instead there was just no mention of the milestone.
Jack Barakat and Alex Gaskarth on The Back to the Future Hearts Tour
November 2015
Photo by Tara Salvati
The Un-Lasting Legacy
If you need any more evidence of Dirty Work’s failure, not only did ATL drop their label right after the album flopped, but they released a new album less than a year later in 2012, called Don’t Panic. The title was clever in that the whole thing was trying to reestablish them as an alternative rock band, and they were telling their fans to literally not panic. It’s one of their best albums, and definitely in the top two for me.
I think it’s fair to say that All Time Low have given up on 2011’s Dirty Work, much like I’ve given up on them. It’s unfortunate since they were such a big part of pulling me though some of the hardest years of my life. They helped open me up to a whole new world of music, and it’s where I’ve found myself and my taste in music. None of that would’ve been possible without All Time Low. So, for that I’m thankful, but unfortunately, if they do decide to go on another tour this year for the first time in nine years, I won’t be attending.
What do you think? Is Dirty Work that bad? Will you stop endorsing All Time Low because of Jack Barakat? Let me know in the comments!
You can follow All Time Low on social media @AllTimeLow
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