As It Is return with their self-titled album on July 17, their first album in eight years and they have definitely not lost their touch.
The album has a bit of everything, ballads, saxophones, pop punk, and a heavier side, paying homage to all eras of As It Is while etching out the latest pathway for the band’s ever-evolving sound.
In an interview with AltCorner at Download, frontman Patty Walters spoke about how the album is the ‘least polished’ they’ve done and it is true as you can feel the raw emotion coming through, but it’s not underproduced at all.
From the opening riffs of I’m so Alive right through to the closing notes of What if it All Works Out, As It Is takes you on an emotional rollercoaster.
I’m so Alive is more of a pop punk track with some upbeat riffs and a bit of a catchy hook, but it has a darker edge too, with lyrics talking about being happy with someone but feeling like falling apart when they’re gone. It’s also the first place that we hear the sax and we get some gang vocals towards the end. It’s a good strong start to the album.
Murray McLeod from The Xcerts provides guest vocals on Ruin My Life. His vocals work well with Patty’s. It has a more mellow vocal melody and I like the tone of the guitar throughout it. The lyrics are quite relatable for me too.
Considering Live Laugh Love Los Angeles wasn’t originally due to be on the album, it’s one of the standouts for sure. The bold use of the saxophone throughout it is a great touch. Lyrically it’s quite hard-hitting, focusing on the state of the USA, but with such an upbeat tone behind it musically. It’s a classic As It Is track but with a modern and more varied take on it.
The ending of Watching the World Go By is absolutely beautiful, the calming piano is really relaxing almost as if you are actually just sat watching the world go by.
Lose Your Way & Find Yourself really hits home to me, as it echoes a lot of the feelings I’ve had over the past few turbulent months. It focuses on getting steady and making the leap to ask for help.
Ben Langford-Biss told us at AltCorner how there’s more than one ballad-style song on the album and honestly it’s really nice to have the slower, more emotional songs like Last at the Party.
If I Ever Lost You is also a beautiful ballad about helping someone you love.
This is definitely the most varied and musically tight album from As It Is. If you want to check out one or two tracks, I highly recommend Live Laugh Love Los Angeles, Marilyn and Turn to Dust. Any of those will have you fully hooked into the record.
