ALBUM REVIEW: As It Is – As It Is
Rebirth defines the new era of pop-punkers AS IT IS. Eight years after their last body of work as a quartet, Patty Walters, Ben Langford-Biss, Ali Testo and Patrick Foley have reunited with a renewed perspective, piecing together what they had once pulled apart. Their self-titled release is built on authenticity, connection and an unrelenting love for music that ultimately brought them back together. Free from the pressure of what it once meant to be AS IT IS, the record documents four musicians rediscovering themselves, both as individuals and as a band.
Pressing play, I’m So Alive! greets you like an old friend who’s just come back from travelling. A strong, catchy melody reminiscent of the pop-punk energy of their second record, okay. introduces the brighter direction that defines this new chapter. The saxophone bursts through the mix with confidence, while a choir of backing vocals transforms the chorus into a shared celebration that wraps the listener in.
That renewed sense of purpose carries straight into Ruin My Life, the album’s most honest and unfiltered track, and the single chosen to announce the record. Leaning into arena-ready rock, the song brings in THE XCERTS‘ Murray Macleod as a co-writer and co-vocalist. Walters describes it as “a reckless love song about the band and all we’ve been through together”. Do You Remember?, co-written with YOU ME AT SIX‘s Max Heyler follows thematically, retelling a story of countless nights on the road, from the highest highs to the lowest lows. It carries the influence of that early YMAS sound while remaining uncompromisingly, entirely AS IT IS.
The album’s first half thrives on that uplifting energy of a summer ride. Live, Laugh, Love, Los Angeles, perhaps its strongest single, captures the frustration with the current political climate in the USA, Walters‘ home country: violence, the rise of the far-right and the reality of “you’ve got no cash for the ambulance” are some of the themes explored in the lyrics. Far from bleak, the track wraps its message in bright, cheerful instrumentals and brings back the saxophone in one of the most inspiring moments on the record. The accompanying music video, showing news footage overlaid with their lyrics on screen, only amplifies the impact. That intensity gives way to Marilyn, whose breezy acoustics and Britpop influences, nodding to the band’s Brighton roots, provide a softer counterpoint. Nostalgic and sweet, the track reflects on the interactions with others in youth that leave a lasting mark on who we become.
By the time Lose Your Way and Find Yourself arrives, the emotional centre of the record comes into focus. Healing is no longer something the band sings about from a distance; it’s something they’ve clearly lived through, transforming the song into a bold, heart-on-sleeve anthem about the work each of them has put in to grow as people before returning as musicians.
As Langford-Biss told Kerrang!, “the first half of this record is destined for a sunny day: windows down, driving around,” and it does feel exactly that way. The bright instrumentation, particularly the horns hint at what could have been the defining characteristic of the album. Their limited use leaves you wishing the band had leaned into them more, though what follows is equally rewarding in a different way.
From Last At The Party onwards, the record gradually slows down the tempo, trading bright pop-punk energy for more intimate arrangements. Acoustic guitar and piano frame lyrics centred on loneliness before the full band gently lifts the song up. Turn to Dust maintains that emotional momentum through what feels like an honest conversation with themselves, while If I Ever Lost You unfolds as a slow burn with heavy emotional lyrics. Not Anymore strips everything back, leaving only guitar and up close and personal vocals, like a voice note sent to a friend in your most honest moment.
Picking the pace back up What If It All Works Out? closes the album with defiance, hope and optimism. “What if failing isn’t failure, it’s a chance to start again?” is a statement. The combination of instrumentals and the voice of both vocalists, build towards a finale that perfectly captures everything this reunion represents. Hope for what they are now, and for everything still to come.
AS IT IS‘ self-titled effort is full of joy, brotherhood and the sort of music that can only come from people who have remembered why they fell in love with it in the first place. Rather than chasing the past, the band embraces a future built on freedom and connection. If this is what starting over sounds like, then it suits them better than ever.
Rating: 7/10
As It Is is set for release on July 17th via FLG.
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