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Revisiting their debut album, on Never Happy, Ever After X, AS IT IS find clarity in celebration and reflection. Each track is re-recorded with collaborations from artists that AS IT IS have been inspired by, have toured with, and have influenced themselves. Never Happy, Ever After X stands as much as a walk down memory lane as a flying of the flag for a new generation of alternative and pop punk music.
Speak Soft X featuring Kellin Quinn (SLEEPING WITH SIRENS) blasts out and immediately hits with an equal measure of energy and nostalgia. Quinn’s vocals enter in the track’s bridge, exploding out for the final chorus and the track takes on an entirely new force behind it. Similarly, Sorry X finds Mikala Delgado (YOURS TRULY) weaving vocal melodies from delicate spins on lines to powerful belts, and adding a distinct flair to the track.
One of the admirable elements of Never Happy, Ever After X is how AS IT IS pass the torch to smaller British bands and artists. Joe Cabrera (BEAUTY SCHOOL) adds a poignant emotional weight to Drowning Deep In Doubt X, marking it as one of the more emotionally impactful moments on the album. Meanwhile Rae Brazil (ARTIO) electrifies Turn Back To Me X, turning it into a real powerhouse and truly making it their own.
Never Happy, Ever After X is at its strongest in these moments where the collaborating artists bring their own spin to the tracks. Re-imagining their biggest track Dial Tones, couldn’t have been an easy task. On Dial Tones X, AS IT IS take the track to a darker tone than its original, dropping the tuning down to a sound that would fit nicely in their The Great Depression era. New guitar riffs hook out of the chorus and find the track twisting to the entrance of Lucas Woodland’s (HOLDING ABSENCE) vocals. In a similar vein, on Concrete X, Tobi Duncan’s (TRASH BOAT) feature takes the already ferocious track and ramps it up tenfold. The bouncing and blasting song roars out, and stands as one of the most dynamic moments on the album.
These peaks are largely brought by the inventiveness of the collaborations, and shines on moments like Dial Tones X where AS IT IS are melding this spin with a new take on their original track. The bulk of the re-recorded material resembles its original counterpart closely, with a few production tweaks that add a crisper feeling to the whole thing. This feels less about AS IT IS trying to create a cohesive new take on Never Happy, Ever After and instead is solely focused on how the collaborations can come together to celebrate the album. A wonderful spin for nostalgic factor, but in moments like Dial Tones X where AS IT IS push at what they could do differently, you can’t help but want to hear more of where their imagination could take the album.
Never Happy, Ever After X is in its very nature a deeply sentimental project. It seems fitting that My Oceans Were Lakes X features Dave ‘Brownsound’ Baksh (SUM 41) and Rachel Walters. A full circle moment for the band who covered SUM 41 in their early days, My Oceans Were Lakes X is also the emotional height of the album. Tracing the clarity of moving through problems, the track resonates even deeper 10 years later and in the wake of the ups and downs that have led AS IT IS to this moment. As the guitar solo bursts out of the bridge, the track is lifted to a euphoric height, and resonates as a deeply crucial AS IT IS track for its emotional candour and soaring sense of hope.
This nostalgic note closes out the album, with a feature from Ella Meadows (TRANSIT) on You, The Room & The Devil On Your Shoulder X. Melding the 2000s emo that inspired AS IT IS, with the gentler and vulnerable closing moment, Never Happy, Ever After X feels as if it has been as much an exercise of clarity as a celebration of the 10 years since its release.
Celebrating both where they have come from and what they have created, AS IT IS have re-recorded these 11 tracks with a lot of care. Because of this, it remains largely faithful to its counterpart, seeking to honour as opposed to fully re-invent the album, and inviting collaborators that will elevate the experience of revisiting the album for a listener. It reaches its peaks however, when AS IT IS themselves play with new directions to take the original tracks, hinting at a creative fire that they still have in them. When they push at the emotional threads just that bit further, AS IT IS also celebrate the beating heart of Never Happy, Ever After: its vulnerability, rawness, and the candour that has found it so beloved for the last ten years.
Rating: 7/10
Never Happy, Ever After X is out now via Slam Dunk Records.
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The post ALBUM REVIEW: Never Happy, Ever After X – As It Is appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
