This is the last two-track demo I ever review, so bands reading this considering sending one in, don’t! This All Time Low would have ended up in the great CD graveyard in the sky too, if it wasn’t for the fact that they’re at least half-decent. Actually, they’re better than that, just let down by an absolutely appalling recording. This sounds like it was recorded properly, then played back and someone bootlegged it, badly. The Chester crew have a melodic AFI/Hot Water Music thing going on, which on the basis of two songs, sounds very promising.
But for all the promise in the world, the final product doesn’t cut the mustard as much as it should do because the recording is so bad. ‘Secrets Cut Deep’ could well be a monster of a track when recorded correctly, but there’s a sshushing and a swirling that I suspect shouldn’t be there. However, the crux of the song sounds promising – the guitars sound heavy and the two and three-way vocals sound nice and thick. ‘Outcome of Influence’ is more of the same, albeit maybe not quite as good as the first song. The production’s even worse though. I hate to go on about it, but this would probably get a full star more if it didn’t sound so bad. Moral of the story, don’t cut corners when you record…
www.thisalltimelow.com
Paul