After a quick foray into polished-pop territory, pop-punk outfit All Time Low course correct with their eighth full-length, Wake Up, Sunshine. Issued three years after the divisive Last Young Renegade, this set doesn't completely abandon that album's mainstream sheen. Rather, it takes the best of that period -- catchy hooks, bright energy -- and merges it with the style that won All Time Low a legion of devoted scene fans. Plugging the guitars back in and freeing the drum kit, the band hops into a time machine set to the 2000s, resurrecting fond memories of Lit ("Getaway Green"), Fall Out Boy ("Sleeping In"), Yellowcard ("Melancholy Kaleidoscope"), and blink-182 ("Trouble Is"). Wake Up, Sunshine is front-loaded with fun, buoyant blasts like these, culminating with the hard-charging title track that sums up the album's overall message of self-acceptance with the rallying cry, "Wake up, sunshine! Somebody loves you for yourself." The middle stretch briefly dips back into their late-2010s tone shift, recruiting rapper blackbear for the midtempo "Monsters" and sounding vaguely OneRepublic-esque on the interlude, "Pretty Venom." The Band Camino also guests on the soaring pop/rock collaborative anthem "Favorite Place," which packs a stadium-sized singalong wallop. While this late segment lags a bit, the tracks remain catchy and enjoyable, even if the energy is toned down. Closing on an uplifting note, All Time Low offers some optimism with "Summer Daze (Seasons, Pt. 2)," capturing that titular brightness with sweet harmony, and tapping into nostalgia with the tender reflection, "Basement Noise." All in all, Wake Up, Sunshine is not as bold or reckless a move as Last Young Renegade, but it scratches that pop-punk itch that listeners no doubt expect from the band, both warm and comforting in its familiarity. ~ Neil Z. Yeung