It’s been a little over three years since pretty-boy pop-rockers, The All-American Rejects, dropped their last record, When the World Comes Down, and it would seem that during the interim, frontman/model/actor/drunkard Tyson Ritter has evolved into somewhat of a half-assed “punk rawker.” (With a stint on the 2010 Vans Warped Tour under his belt, who are we to question his integrity?) This appears to be somewhat of a motif for the Rejects, as Ritter and his ilk demand some undue aural street cred with their fast-breaking effort, “Someday’s Gone.”

The track itself kicks off with some well-produced (get it?) guitar feedback and a severe, screeching, vocal-chord busting “one, two, three, four!” from our main man Tyson. After that, we’re privy to an epic buildup before descending into a relatively softer, straight-ahead, mid-tempo feel and thus, the song begins. There aren’t too many surprises on this cut—toe-taps and head-nods abound, while the pre-chorus and chorus hooks are predictably catchy (but guaranteed to get stuck in the head of any idle listener). Things chill out a bit during the bridge, then build right back up again for a variation on the pre-chorus in which Ritter yowls “you walked into the room // and you fucked everyone.” The song’s solitary f-bomb is sure to earn the Rejects’ upcoming offering, Kids in the Street, that highly-coveted “Mature Audience” sticker and show the pop world that this band still has teeth. Right.

In all, “Someday’s Gone” is sure to leave an aftertaste that recalls something like Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy”—a super-produced, shallow piece of pop-rock ear candy in which a drunken, beleaguered frontman ostensibly pisses some chick off to the point of departure. The Rejects’ newest breakup anthem offers little in the way of the promised musical “experimentation” that supposedly took place during their recording process. The song might hit just a little harder than “Gives You Hell” or “Move Along” but the All-American Rejects are definitely the same, old band. Oh, and that cute little Pacman-esque “wah wah wah” that Ritter does at the end of the cut doesn’t sound like a purposed mistake or a take that rolled a few seconds too long; rather, it smacks of contrivance and the trite kind of overproduction that might make the Rejects’ new album just as forgettable as their previous three.

★★☆☆☆

*This review was composed by Paul Adler