All-American Rejects branch out, with success

The band is just another in a long line of talented musicians — think Cross Canadian Ragweed and Jason Boland & the Stragglers — that come from the center of Red Dirt Music. Of course, the Rejects are rock solid, as evidenced by all of their accolades, including rankings on the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 Artists of the Decade. Not that maintaining their momentum has always been easy.

“It is a weird thing with every album we’ve put out: there’s a backlash when fans say, ‘This is nothing like the old stuff,’ ” said rhythm guitarist Mike Kennerty. “But they come around, and we also gain new fans. We always make the music for ourselves, even when we have to crack a few eggs. … It’s funny because we have had success with each album and the shows sell out.”

That’s certainly true with the band’s latest album “Kids in the Street,” produced by the Grammy-nominated Greg Wells (Adele, Katy Perry, OneRepublic), which has already gained critical acclaim from some major rock critics. And dates on the current “Shaking Off the Rust” tour are selling out.

Making the last album with Wells at the helm gave the band — that also includes lead vocalist and bassist Tyson Ritter, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Nick Wheeler and drummer-percussionist Chris Gaylor — a different perspective by which to create its music.

“We always take our time writing our albums,” said Wheeler. “This music is different because we’ve not only aged a bit (since forming the band in 1999), but pushed ourselves outside our own comfort zone by working with [Wells]. It just seemed right … Sometimes when you get so involved [in creating music], it’s easy to lose perspective. [A producer] can see if it all works together and see the direction [goes toward the ultimate goal] of the album.”

But don’t think this is an album for oldsters. There are plenty of hooks, easy-to-sing-along lyrics and evergreen themes about cheating and stagnation. But you’ll also hear the music step up in sophistication in many areas including on songs such as “Affection,” which was recorded with an orchestra.

For the band, building from its catalog has injected a dose of excitement into the tour.

“It’s a good mix of songs,” he said. “We are real excited to go out and play the new songs. We’ve been working on this album for a couple of years. We know people love the old stuff so [on this tour] we play a good mix of old stuff and new stuff, kind of introducing our audience to the new music.”