Kids in the Street is the fourth studio album by American rock band The All-American Rejects, released March 26, 2012, by Interscope Records.
During this time the band's songwriters Nick Wheeler and Tyson Ritter went on numerous retreats to their secluded house in Chicago, a writing strategy used for their previous albums.
[1] Recording began in April 2011 and wrapped up in June, with mixing commencing the following August and concluding in early September.
"Self-discovery is such an important thing," lead vocalist and bassist Tyson Ritter explained, "I feel like in music you're a virtual Magellan as you discover new, vast territories, sonically and lyrically.
“I went from the floor to standing up, and I think the whole record reflects that thematically,” he continued that he acknowledged he fell quickly into an unintentional "a quarter-life crisis" with "women and excess, getting into trouble, pouring too much Jameson's into the ol' noggin, a lot of people I could've done without", he added, "Of course it was destructive, but it wasn't really intentional.
"[6] During an interview with MTV in October 2011, Ritter confirmed that the band's fourth album will be released on February 7, 2012.
[7] They later revealed that Kids in the Street would be released worldwide on March 26, 2012[8] and unveiled the cover art on February 6.
On December 3, 2011, the All-American Rejects shot a music video for the album's opening track "Someday's Gone" and offered it for free download two days later.
[9] The lead single "Beekeeper's Daughter" premiered in the American teen drama 90210 on January 31, 2012, and featured an appearance from the band as themselves playing the song, before being digitally released on the same day.
[26] Retailer HMV commented, "The band have matured their exuberant sound with a cohesive record that unfolds into a story.
"[28] Entertainment Weekly were more negative, saying that the album had "Too many tracks cloaked in unnecessary hoopla, suffocating the best songs' breezy sweetness that makes blasts of pure blissful oxygen like 'Someday's Gone' and 'Beekeeper's Daughter' extra satisfying, but like most internal battles, Kids in the Street ends in a stalemate",[29] Bloody Disgusting stated, "Without a doubt, this record exhibits a much wider sphere of influence for the band.
[31] AbsolutePunk stated that the album "has something for everyone" and is a mixture of the band's previous LPs and "It's this pacing and experimentation with time signatures that really make each track stand out.
"[32] Consequence of Sound called the album "uninspired, '80s-laced material, doomed to exile from Clear Channel for being spearheaded by a band whose following finally began dismissing PostSecret as the double-blind social networking pity party it became".