Written by Isabella Flynn
When you think of pop punk your mind probably drifts to associations of pizza, hating your hometown, unable to get over an ex-lover, or the typical outfit of flannels, snapbacks, cargo shorts, and Vans. While all of those associations make a common appearance in the scene, it’s so much more than that.
From personal experience, and having been in the scene for at least five, six years, I can confirm that all of what was mentioned earlier makes an appearance, but that’s not what pop-punk can be dwindled down to. Pop-punk is also a safe space for anyone, a form of therapy, a creative outlet, a support system, and weirdly enough, a teaching tool.
Calling pop-punk a teaching tool sounds weird, but it’s true. The community uses its shared bond over the genre to help create safe spaces for us to learn and become more aware of life changing issues.
There’s only so much fans coming together to educate ourselves on these issues can do, and the people who help push and encourage these conversations amongst fans are in fact the artists we bond over.
In 2018, right before the last cross country Warped Tour happened, the UK-based group, As It Is announced their third album, "The Great Depression" with the release of “The Wounded World. The sound of the track and the video itself was a giant leap compared to As It Is’ earlier releases, but a much welcomed one amongst fans and potential new listeners.
They ditched their original, lighter sound that put them on the scene’s radar for a newer, heavier, darker sound. It was an effort to revive the sound of 2000's emo bands and the aesthetics of the period back.
The black hair, the eyeliner, the angst, and most importantly, the emotion- the essentials of 2000's emo were making a reappearance in this new version of As It Is.
Some people were shocked by As It Is traveling back in time to the 2000's emo era, especially with frontman Patty Walters’ new, scene kid appearance that matched the overall aesthetic that As It Is was trying to recreate.
While this new look for Walters' and the rest of the band created a lot of talk amongst fans and non fans, "The Great Depression" was going to be their heaviest record to date, both lyrically and sonically. The album is centered around the realities of struggling with all sides od mental health.
How one deals with it internally, externally, and outsiders who could be the help and support one struggling with it needs told through the perspective of The Poet. People romanticize mental illness and make it out to be something its not and through The Poet’s perspective it tells listeners this is not something quirky or something you wish you had.
It’s something that not only impacts you individually, but everyone else close to you as well. As It Is have always been strong advocates for mental health, so releasing a concept album centered around the struggles that come with it is not surprising.
"The Great Depression" as a whole is such a jump sound wise from the As It Is we were first introduced to back in 2015 with the release of "Never Happy Ever After". Despite it’s more heavy-sound, it still has the elements of the pop-punk genre as a whole.
This album has very obvious post hardcore influence with songs that feature Patty Walters and Benjamin Langford-Biss screaming different parts of the songs. Catchy, prominent guitar riffs and drum beats and a blend of screaming and clean vocals are all things that can be found in "The Great Depression".
It’s a nostalgic listen, "The Fire, The Dark" has influence of "Riot!" era Paramore with it’s catchy opening hook (similar to the track "For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic") and chant-along chorus. "The Handwritten Letter" is also an excellent example of that nostalgic 2000's sound making an appearance in this record as it could easily be mistaken for a Senses Fail track before Walters’ vocals appear.
"The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry)" structure-wise sounds a lot like My Chemical Romance’s "Welcome to the Black Parade". Not to mention, in "The Reaper", Underoath’s Aaron Gillespie makes an appearance and lends his vocal talents to the record.
Influence from the genres of pop punk, emo, and post hardore during the early 2000's run rampant throughout this record. For some that might not be what they want, but it’s what As It Is gave us, and many are so grateful they did.
The shift in sound that As It Is started to explore three years ago has shown them promise and set them up for success with future releases. With two of their newest songs "IDGAF" and "I Lie To Me" having a similar sound to the songs on "The Great Depression" they continue to grow as artists lyrically and sonically,and keep surprising new listeners and longtime fans of the band.
They also deserve the props for creating an entire album with the intention of helping create conversations around mental health. As a society we’re starting to get a better understanding of mental health and how we can help those who struggle with it, and normalize conversations surrounding the subject.
We still have ways to go on that front, but thanks to As It Is tackling the subject with such seriousness and respect we can learn how serious the subject can be and how it's okay to not be okay, a key message on the album.
On a much more personal note, words cannot express how grateful I am for this album. It came out at a time where I needed it the most, and it was one of the first albums I truly connected with.
I was lucky enough to see and meet them when they played Warped Tour in 2018 weeks before the album dropped, and As It Is have been one of my favorite bands since. "The Great Depression" is a super influential album to me and will always be a source of comfort.
It’s been three years since it dropped, and it still holds up and has more relevance in our lives now than when it first came out.
"The Great Depression" is available wherever you stream and you can keep up with the band by following them @ASITISOfficial on Twitter! Let us know what you think of this album by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw!