Review Summary: Although ALL performs in the shadow of the Descendents, their second album effort with Scott Reynolds proves to the punk community that they still rock as well as ever in their pursuit of ALL.
Are you a fan of ALL? If the answer is no, it may be because you’ve never heard of ALL. Surely you’ve heard of the Descendents. ALL has been flying under the radar for quite some time now for no good reason. The Descendents have a well-known legacy in the punk rock world and have even laid foundations for pop-punk of today. ALL is only different from the Descendents in that they have different singers. Milo Aukerman is the front man for the Descendents and believe it or not the Descendents still maintain their energetic, catchy, and familiar sound with Scott Reynolds. Although the Descendents temporarily separated before I was born, ALL and I were conceived soon after. With the birth of ALL came their debut album “Allroy Sez” and then their second LP “Allroy’s Revenge.” Performing well in the shadow of the Descendents seems like an arduous task, but “Allroy’s Revenge” has proven to me that it is quite possible with more than adequate songwriting and an ALLular blast of energy.
When I first picked up this album I was extremely skeptical about how well ALL would sound, especially after hearing newer ALL and disliking the song topics and the way the band would rush through songs on “Problematic.” However, “Allroy’s Revenge” takes its time through songs and as a result has a more defined pop-punk feel while maintaining a punk attitude. The album does not carry any boring or musically-deficient tracks; perhaps the least tolerable track is the 43 second “Check One.” Tracks that stand out on the album also define this album, including “Scary Sad,” “She’s My Ex,” and “Mary.” These three songs all tell stories that carry the Descendents’ theme of girl problems, but the stories are new and still maintain their intended essence without becoming repetitive.
The album begins with what I consider the best instrumental track Edgerton, Alvarez, and Stevenson have ever done: “Gnutheme.” We roll quickly through “Fool,” a song about being completely in love to the point of foolishness, and “Check One,” a…fast life lesson. “Scary Sad” is likely the best song on the album, with Edgerton and Reynolds wailing guitar and vocal chords to create another catchy song to deal with a troubled girl, rivaling Descendents’ “Christmas Vacation.” “Man-O-Steel” is a riff about more than getting your life back on track, but being able to recover and be the best person you can be. “Box,” “Copping Z,” and “Hot Rod Lincoln” are all semi-serious jams about life in the fast lane, the slow lane, and skid row.
The album seems to change course at “She’s My Ex,” where one-liner jokes begin to disappear and are replaced by sincere emotions in the next four love songs. “She’s My Ex” begins the turnaround with a pop-punk masterpiece that tells of those notorious ex-girlfriends and their now irrelevant status compared to where they used to be in your life. Each song conveys different emotions. ALL delivers the dose of punk penicillin you require to knock some sense into your emotionally discharged self. From a relationship turned sour (Bubble Gum), to a girl who seems to have disappeared from your life (Carnage), or just one that you have no guts to talk to (Mary), ALL will satisfy your punk love desires. Personally, ALL’s “Mary” – about a guy being unable to speak up to a girl he’s been digging – always comes to mind when the words refuse to come to my mouth, “I'm not surprised this happens all the time / And my hand lights her cigarette inside my mind / And she's never seen me before.” ALL also takes a blast to the past with “No Traffic,” which tackles similar topics as the Descendents’ “My World,” but lacking the anger of “My World.” However, as with most of the tracks in this album, ALL supplants the infamous anger rant with a breath of fresh air. Reynolds sings “You could be standing and watching city lights / But where you'll be is where you'll be / And what you do is up to you.” Staying content and happy with your life while having a hell of a time is a theme in a lot of the Descendents’ tunes, and ALL does a fine job of continuing the same attitude and conveying their uplifting messages through punk rock.
Musically, almost everything on the album is what you would expect from the Descendents, and rightfully so. The Descendents play ALL songs when touring and vice versa, so their goal is not to develop a distinguishable sound, but to create enjoyable music with whoever happens to be singing. Lyrically this album is as dynamic as older Descendents songs because roughly half the album is constructed by Bill Stevenson who writes a good amount of the Descendents’ work. Scott Reynolds’ vocals are very impressive and are not a drastic transition from Milo. Scott can really carry a tune and he carries a lot of ALL songs very well like “No Traffic” and “Carnage.” His voice is edgy, not too rough, and is very similar to Milo’s. My primary concern with this album prior to my first listen was the vocals as Milo is my favorite punk icon to have ever gripped a microphone. Scott Reynolds actually exceeded my expectations and I now find him as my preferred ALL singer, above Chad Price and Dave Smalley. After searching for a while, the only shortcoming that stood out to me was that "Net" is very lengthy and contains a slightly annoying chorus if you just listen for the music and not the lyrics. Overall, "Allroy's Revenge" turns out very well and does not take any heavy bumps on the road toward an excellent punk album.
“Allroy’s Revenge” is silly at times (go figure) but transcends expectations with continuously entertaining and relevant songs to be considered a worthy listen. If you enjoy the Descendents or pop-punk in general, I give this album a full recommendation. If you have never heard of the Descendents, you’re in the wrong place reading the wrong album review. This music is as close to the Descendents as you’ll get, and musically, ALL is a trace of the evolution of the Descendents between “All” (the album) and “Everything Sucks.” If you do choose to give this album a listen, I would suggest hearing this album before any other ALL albums to appreciate how far along they have come and the great music they were putting out soon after the beginning of the Descendents’ hiatus. Enjoy!
