Okay I give up. This is the second pop-punk act I’ve covered in the past couple of days and the second one that I can’t stand (and the second one that seems bent on soiling New Found Glory’s influence). I am now officially old.

You may like All Time Low. You might even LOVE All Time Low. If so, then this release is for you. It’s a CD/DVD EP from a six-song set they did for MTV. You get six songs on the CD…and then the video of the same six songs on the DVD, plus some unfunny outtakes and interviews. And that’s it.

In other words, there’s not much here for the casual fan to sink their teeth into. And there’s certainly not a lot of appeal for someone like myself who’s never listened to ATL before. For better or worse, the acoustic versions of these songs sound like generic pop crap. Now they might sound better in their full band/fleshed out form, but that doesn’t save them here.

Beyond that, the DVD portion of this release doesn’t do the ATL guys any favors. They’re surrounded by an audience of adoring teen female fans (the few guys in the audience look bewildered and lost) and they look as cocky and smug as can be. Has pop-punk become the new jock the teen social stratosphere? The outtakes don’t help either, as they come off like a snot-nosed crew of foul-mouthed teens. I assume they’re in their early twenties, but with the maturity of 13 year-olds.

Like I said before: I’m getting old. I freely admit that. But I still have a fond affection for pop-punk when it’s done right. Shoot, I even have an appreciation for bands like Blink-182 that made their career out of being retarded, goofy, and yes, well-versed in potty humor. Perhaps the core issue at stake is the fact that groups like ATL aren’t bringing anything new to the scene. Like those warnings before every episode of Jackass: it’s not funny or cool when you or your dumb friends try to pull it off. Leave it to the big boys guys. Bring your A-game or go home.