ALBUM REVIEW: The Great Depression – As It Is

AS IT IS have been one of the many British pop-punk bands to see success in recent years. Their nice, summery tunes and vocalists Patty Walters previous YouTube fame made them a big hit within the Warped Tour scene. Their first two albums saw their popularity grow and with a scene that is becoming increasingly obsessed with drifting towards the pop side of pop-punk, it’s surprising to see that AS IT IS are taking a different approach on album number three.

The Great Depression is something of a departure for AS IT IS, gone is the bright and breezy pop-punk sound of the first two albums. Instead the band attempt to find a darker and more mature sound with this album. Make no mistake, this is still very much an album that leans towards the poppier side of alternative music but it feels more serious than anything AS IT IS have done before.

Take a song like The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry), which tackles toxic masculinity and ends up having more to say than any previous AS IT IS song. The message is clear and important, it’s a song that will no doubt mean a lot to many of the bands fans. It helps that alongside its powerful message this is arguably the best song AS IT IS have ever released. Lead single The Wounded World is another example of the band having more to say this time out. It’s all a bit heavy handed and a little cliche at times but there is a sincerity there which suggests this is a genuine attempt to have more of a message.

Another way this album is a departure is the way it is hugely influenced by 00’s emo and post-hardcore. From the first press shots the bands new look called back MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE. The title track has a real theatrical side to it and the band even split the album into four acts with it being a concept album of sorts. It’s not just MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE that the band take influence from. The Handwritten Letter sounds like it could have been taken off of an early SENSES FAIL album whilst The Reaper features an appearance from UNDEROATH‘s Aaron Gillespie. Still even with all these clear influences, AS IT IS do try to make these songs their own rather than just ripping off other bands.

Whilst there is a lot AS IT IS do well on this album there are a few things that do drag it down. Firstly at 44 minutes the album is too long. Despite their best efforts to mix things up they just don’t have the musical dexterity to justify the album being this long. This means it does start to drag on towards the end. And whilst the album is clearly darker than their previous work, some of Patty Walters‘ vocal melodies can be sickeningly sweet. This might not be a problem to the band’s fans but sometimes it can get a little grating.

Still, The Great Depression is easily the strongest album AS IT IS have released. It has some really strong moments and is just more interesting than anything they have done before. Considering how most of their peers seem to be leaning even more towards pop music it’s refreshing to see AS IT IS want to be taken seriously as a rock band. Now if you’ve never cared for pop-punk or emo then this album certainly won’t be for you, but given the current state of pop-punk, The Great Depression does enough to stand out amongst similar bands right now.

Rating: 7/10

The Great Depression is out now via Fearless Records. 

Like AS IT IS on Facebook.