For The All-American Rejects, nostalgia has never been the whole story.

Since breaking through in the early 2000s with a run of pop-rock anthems that burrowed deep into the brains of a generation, the Oklahoma-formed band have always thrived on chaos, connection, and a refusal to be anything other than themselves. Though their songs have soundtracked countless heartbreaks, house parties, late-night drives, and teenage meltdowns, if their return has proven one thing, it’s that The Rejects’ magic has never belonged solely to the past.

After selling out venues across the US on 2023’s ‘Wet Hot All-American Summer Tour’, the band decided to take things back to where they began in the most literal way possible. Playing free guerilla pop-up shows everywhere from college campuses to a barn in rural Iowa and a fan’s backyard in Chicago, they reminded everyone – including themselves – that rock music is at its best when it feels communal, unpredictable, and at least a little bit out of control.

Now, with ‘Sandbox’, their first full-length album in 14 years and first independent release, The All-American Rejects are stepping into a new era entirely on their own terms. Sharp, strange, heartfelt, and unmistakably theirs, it’s a record that honours the spirit of the band’s journey whilst pushing towards something looser, freer, and more reflective of who they all are today.

Rock Sound caught up with guitarist Nick Wheeler to talk about finding their way back to The Rejects, making a record without outside pressure, and what success looks like when you’re finally doing things for yourself.

ROCK SOUND: It’s been 14 years since the last full-length The All-American Rejects album. When did ‘Sandbox’ stop feeling like “maybe we’ll make another record one day” and start feeling like something real?

NICK WHEELER: It wasn’t “maybe we’ll make another record one day”, it was “we will never make another record again”. At least until 2024. In the year or two leading up to that decision, we got to play in front of real fans again and we saw how much people still loved this band. After living in a bus together during that time on the first headlining tour we’d done in over a decade, we realized that we still loved this band too.

RS: The band has had this huge resurgence over the last couple of years, especially with the reaction to the House Party Tour. Did seeing that many people still genuinely excited for The All-American Rejects change the way you thought about making this album?

NICK: We had started recording new material and releasing singles before the house party tour, but the response to those shows is definitely what inspired us to keep going and finish the record.

RS: ‘Sandbox’ is your first independent album. How did that independence impact the way you approached these songs and this era of the band?

NICK: Well for starters, there was no big budget from a record label, so we recorded and produced the album ourselves in our individual creative spaces – Tyson [Ritter, frontman] in Tulsa, Scott [Chesak, former keyboard player] in Austin, and me in my studio in Nashville. Even though we were limited because of budget and geography, it was freeing to create something without the outside voices of A&R or anyone else for that matter. No pressure to write another ‘Gives You Hell’ or ‘Move Along’. We got to make the record that we wanted to make – as that band, but from where we are in our lives now.

RS: You’ve described The All-American Rejects as “a band of the people”, and the House Party Tour really embodied that. Did that experience reconnect you with what this band is really all about?

NICK: For me, it definitely reminded me of where we came from – how we started. We also got to be the opening slot on a big stadium tour last year, but it was hard to recreate the feeling we got from the shows on the house party tour out there. We loved giving people an option for a cheap ticket, and a down and dirty rock show, but it gave so much more back to us and kept us inspired to finish ‘Sandbox’.

RS: Those shows also introduced you to a whole new generation of fans while bringing back people who grew up with the band. What has surprised you most about the way different generations are connecting with The All-American Rejects right now?

NICK: I guess one of the positives that’s come from the streaming era is that it’s allowed younger generations of music fans to discover our band on their own. We’re not just their parent’s music. We’re theirs as well, and I understand how meaningful it is to be that impressionable age where the music you fall in love with will be something that you treasure forever.

RS: ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ feels like such an important song when we look at this new era. When you were writing it, did it feel like you’d tapped straight back into that classic Rejects sound?

NICK: ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ has actually been around for a while. Tyson and Scott worked it up a few years ago, and it wasn’t until Ty and I finished a different song that we decided to approach this one as a Rejects’ record. That’s actually what got us to loop Scott into our process. I think it was the songs that came after that like ‘Eggshell Tap Dancer’ and ‘Search Party’ that really informed where this album was going to go.

RS: There’s a real mix across these new songs, too. From that indie-leaning feel of ‘Search Party’ and ‘Eggshell Tap-Dancer’ to the pop-rock energy of ‘Get This’ and the sharpness of ‘King Kong’. Did you go into ‘Sandbox’ wanting to stretch the idea of what a Rejects song could be in 2026?

NICK: We definitely took some chances and challenged ourselves musically, like we’ve set out to do with each record. But for ‘Sandbox’, we mostly just worked on the songs and the ideas that excited us and made us happy.

RS: ‘King Kong’ is about leaving Los Angeles. What did getting out of that LA ecosystem give back to you, both as a person and as a songwriter?

NICK: I left LA about 10 years ago to move to Nashville in search of an identity outside of my band. Over the last decade I not only found myself, but I feel I developed the confidence and the skills to help bring this next chapter of AAR to fruition.

RS: Rock Sound got to host the ‘Sandbox’ listening party with you at SXSW, where a small group of fans heard the record early in an intimate setting. What was it like to be a part of that after keeping this album under wraps for so long?

NICK: To be honest, we didn’t stick around for too long as we had to get back to the venue for our show that night. It’s awkward to watch people listen to your music anyway, at least when it’s already finished. I do like showing songs to people during the creative process however because you hear things differently when you watch someone else listen to your work.

RS: The listening party also felt like a celebration of the band’s past and future happening in the same room. Did that night make the album feel more ‘out in the world’ for you?

NICK: I still can’t believe it’s out in the world to be honest. We’ve been releasing singles from what would become this album for over a year now, and we’ve been playing a lot of them at our shows as well. It’s weird to be on the other side of it and promoting it as an actual thing that can be experienced though, not as just something that’s coming.

RS: Rejects are in a special position right now, because you’ve got all of these opportunities, but are now handling them on your own terms. Does it feel like a comeback to you, or more like the band is finally operating the way you were always meant to?

NICK: I think this is a new season of the Rejects. Over the course of our career we’ve been passed around to four or five different labels, had multiple managers and agents, and we’ve never worked with the same producer for more than one record. We’re used to doing things a little differently each time we make music or tour. It hasn’t always been correct, or felt like the timing was right each time. But with ‘Sandbox’ it’s exactly how it needed to happen and we couldn’t be more fulfilled with the process.

RS: If someone presses play on ‘Sandbox’ knowing only the big singles from the 2000s, what do you hope they understand about who The All-American Rejects are now?

NICK: We definitely didn’t set out to deconstruct our hits and just put them back together in a slightly different way like some bands are doing, either by choice or because of their limitations. But the spirit of the classic Rejects anthem is there in songs like ‘Get This’ and ‘King Kong’, and there’s a personal touch in songs like ‘Green Isn’t Yellow’ and ‘For Mama’. There are also some of the hardest, most raw songs we’ve ever written and recorded that I think people wouldn’t necessarily expect from us.

RS: Finally, after everything this band has been through, what does success look like for you in this era – is it numbers, connection, longevity, or simply still being able to surprise people?

NICK: It’s definitely not numbers. I’m fortunate enough to be ignorant to what the numbers even mean these days. We’re just trying to do the things that excite us and make us happy and want to continue doing this. Sometimes it’s still hard, and it can be a grind, but it’s not like it was in the major label system that’s for sure.