Truth be told, The All-American Rejects have a new album, and truth be told, we’re not lying.
Sandbox, the first record from the “Gives You Hell” outfit in 14 years, is out now.
“We kinda slowed things down for a while to kinda get our heads back on straight after 10 years of writing, recording and touring, and then just repeating that process over and over four times,” guitarist Nick Wheeler tells ABC Audio. “We just needed to wait until everybody was ready to go full bore again.”
That time came, Wheeler says, after the band embarked on a tour in 2023, which marked their first full-length headlining outing in over a decade.
“It was just exciting,” Wheeler says. “It was, ironically, the biggest one we’ve ever done. But it got us to kind of dip our toes back into the studio, which got us into approaching new music again for the first time in a very long time.”
Leading up to Sandbox, though, the Rejects launched one of their smallest tours with the House Party tour, which has seen them play tiny pop-up shows across the country with little-to-no advance notice.
“Every day is totally different, it’s impossible to have a routine out here on the House Party tour,” Wheeler tells ABC Audio. “They’ve been exhausting, but they have been a great reminder of why we do this, and just getting face-to-face with our fans.”
For the latest House Party tour leg, the Rejects teamed up with Mike’s Dirty Lemonade, which even named a drink after them: Dirty Lemon Secret. Mike’s is also inviting fans to share their own “Dirty Little Secret” for a chance to win a VIP trip to a Chicago Rejects show in August.
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