Dirty Work (All Time Low album)
Encyclopedia
Dirty Work is the fourth full-length studio album
by American pop punk
band All Time Low
. The album is the band's major label debut and was released on June 7, 2011 by Interscope Records
. "I Feel Like Dancin'
" was released as the album's first single on April 15, 2011. Dirty Work debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200
in the United States with 45,000 first week sales and it was met with some commercial success.
began recording their fourth studio album with producers John Fields
, Matt Squire and Mike Green. They documented the process with video blogs on their official website and fan club, The Hustler Club. On August 17, 2010, a demo song from the new album, titled "Actors," was posted on earthtoalex.tumblr.com. On July 28, Alex announced via Twitter that they had officially finished tracking all songs for the album.
During an interview with MTV, All Time Low stated that the album was named Dirty Work after the bands past and present events. Alex says that it is a lot of "dirty work" doing what they love, because, while it has many benefits, it has downsides too, one of which being that it keeps them away from their loved ones at home. In the same interview, they also revealed how the album was a "crossroads" in their lives, with the music on the album being both similar to their usual style in some songs, as well as diverging into new areas in others. The band also revealed that the title Dirty Work came from the record's content itself with songs about how life on the road can have its ups and downs, and what they are effectively doing is "dirty work."
It was confirmed in an interview that the demo track "Actors" released in August 2010 would not feature on Dirty Work. On December 12, 2010, Hot Topic
announced via Twitter that All Time Low had "finished recording Dirty Work this week."
Yellowcard
said on their Twitter that All Time Low's new album would be released on March 22, 2011, the same day as their new album, but later sent out another tweet saying that had not been confirmed by anyone in All Time Low.
During an interview in early February, frontman Alex Gaskarth stated that the band were currently approving artwork. He went on to say: "the record is slated to be released in late March so I would expect people to start hearing something in the next few weeks." Alex stated in another interview: "We never actually gave an official release date; it's all been left to speculation and stretching of the facts. At this point, its looking more like the record will come out a bit later than March, but I think folks can still expect to hear some new material in the coming weeks. AbsolutePunk stated that the "record's definitely not coming out in March" due to the "restructuring" of Interscope and a number of records have been pushed back, Dirty Work being one of them. On April 1, Alex Gaskarth officially announced that Dirty Work would be released on June 7, 2011 through an interview with Glamour Kills.
On February 8, Alex Gaskarth leaked a preview of a new song on his Twitter. A week later, on February 15 the band played a song off the album live for the first time, the song was confirmed on Twitter to be "Time-Bomb". Ten days later, Alex Gaskarth leaked the studio version of "Time-Bomb" on twitter. Following "Time Bomb"'s leak, Alex stated on AbsolutePunk that the song would not be the first single and that the sound is a bridge between Nothing Personal and Dirty Work.
In an interview with All Time Low Exposed, Alex revealed that Maja Ivarsson from The Sounds
would provide guest vocals on the track "Guts".
Jack Barakat stated during an interview with AbsolutePunk that All Time Low will "hopefully be releasing the track-listing shortly, maybe even clips of every song." He went on to say "As of now, We (Band, Management, Interscope) haven't picked a single. "I Feel Like Dancin" is in the running and will most likely be released as a single at some point, we're just not sure if it will be the first one. It's a great song that we actually had the honor to write with Rivers Cuomo. It has a cool Weezer
/All Time Low/party hybrid-vibe to it."
On the 22nd March 2011, All Time Low exclusively unveiled the artwork for Dirty Work through Alternative Press. They also confirmed that "I Feel Like Dancin" would be released via iTunes on April 5, 2011 and on May 23, the music video was premiered on Vevo exclusively. http://www.directlyrics.com/all-time-low--i-feel-like-dancing-music-video-news.html.
A pre-order of the album became available on glamourkills.com starting Monday, April 4. There were several T-Shirts and a hoodie available as well as the standard and a deluxe version of Dirty Work. Whoever pre-ordered the album on Glamourkills.com received a link to a song entitled "Do You Want Me (Dead?)" on May 30.
The 5th song on the album entitled "Time-Bomb" was originally written by Alex Gaskarth along with Matt Squire, Pierre Bouvier and Chuck Comeau for a Simple Plan
song. However during the writing process they deemed it more of an "All Time Low song". Alex Gaskarth was then featured on the Simple Plan song "Freaking Me Out" from Simple Plan's Get Your Heart On!
album.
On August 15, the song "Forget About It", was released as a radio single with a music video featuring footage of the band on the "Dirty Work Tour".
On August 26, it was confirmed in a interview with pupfresh.com that the next single from Dirty Work will be "Time-Bomb". On October 18, the band's crew announced that the video was nearing completion, to be released on November 30, according to All Time Low's Twitter account on November 24.
gave the album a fairly negative review, stating that "Similarly, there was a time when All Time Low were a genuinely exciting young pop punk band; when the songs were dynamic and Alex Fucking Gaskarth's vocals were merely double-tracked rather than layered and autotuned to fuck." idobi Radio
said, "The band lost their way... This experiment went wildly out of control. The album lacks overall direction and cohesiveness." Review Rinse Repeat's review was just as negative, noting that the record "Overproduced and emotionally flat, there just isn't much good to say about this album. Strange enough, All Time Low seem to be in a completely different world this time around, as tracks like "Forget About It", "Under a Paper Moon" and "I Feel Like Dancin'" show with unneeded slickness, out-of-body songwriting (not in a good way) and underachieving vocals." On a different perspective Entertainment Weekly
gave the album a fairly positive review, noting "Dirty Work proves you can grow up and still act like a kid." M is for Music gave the album a fairly positive review, noting "Third track Forget About It sounds almost like it would have been right at home on So Wrong, It's Right."
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band All Time Low
All Time Low
All Time Low is an American pop punk band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2003.The band consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alexander Gaskarth, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Jack Barakat, bassist and backing vocalist Zachary Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson...
. The album is the band's major label debut and was released on June 7, 2011 by Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
. "I Feel Like Dancin'
I Feel Like Dancin'
"I Feel Like Dancin" is a song by American pop punk band All Time Low. It is the first single from their fourth studio album Dirty Work and is co-written with Weezer's Rivers Cuomo. The single was released in the United States through Interscope Records as a digital download on April 5, 2011. On...
" was released as the album's first single on April 15, 2011. Dirty Work debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in the United States with 45,000 first week sales and it was met with some commercial success.
History
In late March 2010, All Time LowAll Time Low
All Time Low is an American pop punk band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2003.The band consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alexander Gaskarth, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Jack Barakat, bassist and backing vocalist Zachary Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson...
began recording their fourth studio album with producers John Fields
John Fields (producer)
John Fields is an American record producer and musician. Fields has produced for a number of musical artists, including the Jonas Brothers, Switchfoot, Pink, Andrew W. K., Har Mar Superstar, Miley Cyrus, and Demi Lovato...
, Matt Squire and Mike Green. They documented the process with video blogs on their official website and fan club, The Hustler Club. On August 17, 2010, a demo song from the new album, titled "Actors," was posted on earthtoalex.tumblr.com. On July 28, Alex announced via Twitter that they had officially finished tracking all songs for the album.
During an interview with MTV, All Time Low stated that the album was named Dirty Work after the bands past and present events. Alex says that it is a lot of "dirty work" doing what they love, because, while it has many benefits, it has downsides too, one of which being that it keeps them away from their loved ones at home. In the same interview, they also revealed how the album was a "crossroads" in their lives, with the music on the album being both similar to their usual style in some songs, as well as diverging into new areas in others. The band also revealed that the title Dirty Work came from the record's content itself with songs about how life on the road can have its ups and downs, and what they are effectively doing is "dirty work."
It was confirmed in an interview that the demo track "Actors" released in August 2010 would not feature on Dirty Work. On December 12, 2010, Hot Topic
Hot Topic
Hot Topic is an American retail chain specializing in music and pop culture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music on CD. The majority of the stores are located in regional shopping malls. The first Hot Topic store was opened in 1988 by Orv Madden, who retired as CEO in 2000...
announced via Twitter that All Time Low had "finished recording Dirty Work this week."
Yellowcard
Yellowcard
Yellowcard is an American pop punk/alternative rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2000. Their music features the use of a violin, unusual for the genre...
said on their Twitter that All Time Low's new album would be released on March 22, 2011, the same day as their new album, but later sent out another tweet saying that had not been confirmed by anyone in All Time Low.
During an interview in early February, frontman Alex Gaskarth stated that the band were currently approving artwork. He went on to say: "the record is slated to be released in late March so I would expect people to start hearing something in the next few weeks." Alex stated in another interview: "We never actually gave an official release date; it's all been left to speculation and stretching of the facts. At this point, its looking more like the record will come out a bit later than March, but I think folks can still expect to hear some new material in the coming weeks. AbsolutePunk stated that the "record's definitely not coming out in March" due to the "restructuring" of Interscope and a number of records have been pushed back, Dirty Work being one of them. On April 1, Alex Gaskarth officially announced that Dirty Work would be released on June 7, 2011 through an interview with Glamour Kills.
On February 8, Alex Gaskarth leaked a preview of a new song on his Twitter. A week later, on February 15 the band played a song off the album live for the first time, the song was confirmed on Twitter to be "Time-Bomb". Ten days later, Alex Gaskarth leaked the studio version of "Time-Bomb" on twitter. Following "Time Bomb"'s leak, Alex stated on AbsolutePunk that the song would not be the first single and that the sound is a bridge between Nothing Personal and Dirty Work.
In an interview with All Time Low Exposed, Alex revealed that Maja Ivarsson from The Sounds
The Sounds
The Sounds are a Swedish Indie Rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group's musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons....
would provide guest vocals on the track "Guts".
Jack Barakat stated during an interview with AbsolutePunk that All Time Low will "hopefully be releasing the track-listing shortly, maybe even clips of every song." He went on to say "As of now, We (Band, Management, Interscope) haven't picked a single. "I Feel Like Dancin" is in the running and will most likely be released as a single at some point, we're just not sure if it will be the first one. It's a great song that we actually had the honor to write with Rivers Cuomo. It has a cool Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
/All Time Low/party hybrid-vibe to it."
On the 22nd March 2011, All Time Low exclusively unveiled the artwork for Dirty Work through Alternative Press. They also confirmed that "I Feel Like Dancin" would be released via iTunes on April 5, 2011 and on May 23, the music video was premiered on Vevo exclusively. http://www.directlyrics.com/all-time-low--i-feel-like-dancing-music-video-news.html.
A pre-order of the album became available on glamourkills.com starting Monday, April 4. There were several T-Shirts and a hoodie available as well as the standard and a deluxe version of Dirty Work. Whoever pre-ordered the album on Glamourkills.com received a link to a song entitled "Do You Want Me (Dead?)" on May 30.
The 5th song on the album entitled "Time-Bomb" was originally written by Alex Gaskarth along with Matt Squire, Pierre Bouvier and Chuck Comeau for a Simple Plan
Simple Plan
Simple Plan is a Canadian pop punk band from Montréal, Québec. The band has had no line up changes since its inception in 1999. Members are Pierre Bouvier , Jeff Stinco , Sébastien Lefebvre , David Desrosiers and Chuck Comeau...
song. However during the writing process they deemed it more of an "All Time Low song". Alex Gaskarth was then featured on the Simple Plan song "Freaking Me Out" from Simple Plan's Get Your Heart On!
Get Your Heart On!
Get Your Heart On! is the fourth studio album by Canadian pop punk band Simple Plan, released on 21 June 2011. In some countries such as Australia and the Netherlands, the album was released on 17 June 2011. "Jet Lag" was released as the record's lead single on April 25 and a music video has been...
album.
On August 15, the song "Forget About It", was released as a radio single with a music video featuring footage of the band on the "Dirty Work Tour".
On August 26, it was confirmed in a interview with pupfresh.com that the next single from Dirty Work will be "Time-Bomb". On October 18, the band's crew announced that the video was nearing completion, to be released on November 30, according to All Time Low's Twitter account on November 24.
Reception
The album thus far has received mixed reviews. Alternative Press gave the album an average review, stating "Guts, featuring The Sounds' Maja Ivarsson is a synth-assisted 6/8 number loaded with urgency and lyrical poignancy" yet also notes "Other tracks feel homogenized and lifeless, as if they were focus group to death. Time-Bomb is a Metro Station-aping electro-dance number that does nothing to actually make the listener dance." Luuux gave the album an overall average review, stating "Fast beat with electric guitar songs like "That Girl" and "I Feel Like Dancin'" (a satire song about the radio/music industry) don't have me as a fan either, but the rest of the album is worthwhile." SputnikmusicSputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
gave the album a fairly negative review, stating that "Similarly, there was a time when All Time Low were a genuinely exciting young pop punk band; when the songs were dynamic and Alex Fucking Gaskarth's vocals were merely double-tracked rather than layered and autotuned to fuck." idobi Radio
Idobi Radio
idobi Radio is a modern rock Internet radio station focusing on new pop punk, Alternative music and Power pop music. The station broadcasts over the Internet via its Web site, iTunes and SHOUTcast. Established in 1999, idobi has connected listeners with artists through interviews and up-to-date...
said, "The band lost their way... This experiment went wildly out of control. The album lacks overall direction and cohesiveness." Review Rinse Repeat's review was just as negative, noting that the record "Overproduced and emotionally flat, there just isn't much good to say about this album. Strange enough, All Time Low seem to be in a completely different world this time around, as tracks like "Forget About It", "Under a Paper Moon" and "I Feel Like Dancin'" show with unneeded slickness, out-of-body songwriting (not in a good way) and underachieving vocals." On a different perspective Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the album a fairly positive review, noting "Dirty Work proves you can grow up and still act like a kid." M is for Music gave the album a fairly positive review, noting "Third track Forget About It sounds almost like it would have been right at home on So Wrong, It's Right."
Track listing
Personnel
- Alex Gaskarth: lead vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Jack Barakat: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocals - Zack Merrick: bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Rian Dawson: drums, percussion
Weekly charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
13 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 13 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 67 |
| Ireland Albums Chart | 34 |
| Japan Albums Chart | 41 |
| Sweden Albums Chart | 83 |
| UK Albums Chart | 20 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
6 |
| US Billboard Alternative Albums | 1 |
| US Billboard Rock Albums | 1 |
| US Billboard Digital Albums | 3 |
| US Billboard Tastemaker Albums | 19 |