AS IT IS 'I WENT TO HELL AND BACK' - Album Review

 

British pop-punk band As It Is has been through many trials and tribulations since their last album, from being a band of five to now being a band of three, and like many other bands in the scene, the current COVID-19 pandemic putting a halt to everything. But the boys are back and better than ever with their newest and 4th studio album appropriately titled 'I WENT TO HELL AND BACK'. As It Is are never afraid of changing up their sound and this album proves once again that bands can succeed when they give the fans something new! 

No strangers to also having a specific theme or concept behind each album and after the theming of their last album titled 'The Great Depression' which was basically the band trying to bring 'emo' back with vocalist Patty Walters long black hair and dark eyeliner and black and red outfits similar to Gerard Way back in My Chemical Romance's prime, nobody knew what to expect next from them. With the release of their first single titled 'IDGAF' back in May of last year, it was apparent of the direction the band planned to go with on I WENT TO HELL AND BACK. It's almost the perfect mixture of the band's early pop-punk days with the upbeat instrumentals and the darker instrumentals that The Great Depression had. 

This is the first As It Is album that has guitarist Ronnie Ish taking over for beloved former member Benjamin Langford-Biss who parted ways with the band shortly after their last tour to focus on solo work. Ronnie was touring with As It Is on that last tour as an extra guitarist so fans were ecstatic when it was announced he would be a permanent member! With Ronnie being the only guitarist now, he gets to show his talent and he definitely fits in perfectly, almost like he was destined to be a part of this band and album creation! 

Overall, I WENT TO HELL AND BACK is nostalgic, energetic, and for the people who just want Warped Tour to come back! If you have never listened to As It Is but enjoy bands such as Neck Deep or Trash Boat, this is definitely a band for you! Every single album this band puts out gets better and better. Arguably, this might be the best album of their career! No matter the situation, As It Is are amazing at coming back with new and different experiences for all of their albums and I WENT TO HELL AND BACK is no exception. What makes it such a significance is how different it is when compared to the generic pop-punk feel of their debut album 'Never Happy, Ever After', the happy 50's inspired 'Okay', and of course the dark heavy topics of 'The Great Depression'. I WENT TO HELL AND BACK is it is own. It's different but not so different that it deters long-time listeners. It combines a little of everything from the band's past work and puts it into an album that is truly a masterpiece! 

Rating: 4/5

★★★★☆

  

Wallows 'Remote' - EP Review

 

       As we know, 2020 has not been the year for music lovers. With Covid-19 ruining everyone's concert plans and bands having so much more time on their hands, there is lots of time for them to record more music! That is what Wallows have done. Written and recorded during the quarantine period, the Wallows boys have released their newest EP titled 'Remote.' The entire writing and recording process was done remotely, with the band sharing voice memos they recorded off their phones during the creation of the EP. Consisting of 6 songs and a run time of about 15 minutes, you get transported into what can only be an '80s/90's coming of age film. With nostalgic synthesizers and the band's classic Indie sounding vocals, you feel like you are in a different time where everything is good in the world while listening. The transitions between each song are just another reason you need to listen to the songs to experience the full effect! 

    

    Track number two, titled 'Dig What You Dug' is a personal favourite mainly because of the guitar, and I can picture my friends and I at a party dancing our hearts out! Each song focuses on being in love, and honestly, who doesn't love a good love song? Especially when it makes you so happy to listen to it! With so many funky sounds going on throughout the EP, you have reached the end before you know it, but as stated earlier, everything transitions so smoothly you can't even tell when the previous song ends, and the new one begins. 

    

    'Remote' is a prime example of how even though bands can't be together physically right now, they can still create notable works of art. They are also learning different ways to be creative out of the studio by merely being experimental with how they write and even record their songs. Wallows have once again created an EP you need to check out if you want a collection of songs that make you want to dance around your room and live out the scenarios in your head of being the main character in your own storyline! 

Why Don't We '8 Letters' - Album Review

     2018's newest breakout boyband Why Don't We released their debut album titled "8 Letters" after a year-long wait. No strangers to the music world, the boys of Why Don't We's long-awaited debut album has finally been brought into the world. The album which features the singles 'Hooked' and 'Talk' is a much more mature sound for the boys with more mature lyrics. Featuring 8 songs (only a couple more songs than their previous 5 song EPs) all written by the boys themselves. Most songs consisting of the same theme of love and heartbreak. All the songs sound much more different than what the fans would expect, with less repetition of the lyrics but still keeping with their known catchy choruses. There is no doubt that everyone will find at least one song they claim as a favorite with a mixture of both slow sad type songs such as "Hard" and upbeat catchy songs like "Friends." You can tell a lot of time and work went into the writing as well as the recording process. No matter what song you listen to you will automatically recognize it as a Why Don't We song with each boy's distinct vocals and how all of the tracks sound like something you've never heard before. For fans just getting into Why Don't We because of this album are going to be really impressed with the evolution of the band when compared to their last EP released late 2017 titled 'Invitation'. Every track on the album has a different story behind it and none of the tracks sound similar which is great to hear from a band labeled as the stereotypical boyband. The boys wrote songs that are more mature and aimed more at fans and people their own ages (17-20). Why Don't We has a lot of younger fans which they were aware of and you could tell with the lyrics they would write on previous EPs that had songs that were more for the younger crowd but with '8 Letters' the boys prove that they don't have to stick to writing innocent lyrics in order to stay "on brand". Fans who are around the age of the boys and even fans who are older will appreciate the riskier lyric approach the boys took while still staying appropriate for the younger fans. The album also consists of different background instrumentals rather than the same dance beat heard on their past work. Overall, Why Don't We exceeded all of the expectations and came out with a fabulous debut album which will without a doubt help them in their rise to fame.

Why Don't We's debut album 8 Letters is available on iTunes, Spotify, and other streaming services so don't hesitate to give this album a listen!!