GET TO KNOW: As It Is
- Lou Viner-Flood
- 16 hours ago
- 3 min read
AS IT IS is a band that never fails to make you feel something. They have the ability to
snap you straight back to the first time Dial Tones made your chest tighten, or when Okay. felt like a mirror held up to every messy, unspoken feeling you’d been carrying around. They were the band you found through Tumblr posts, YouTube rabbit holes, or in the sweat‑heavy crush of a tiny venue where every lyric felt like it was being shouted directly at your ribs. Brighton might be where they formed, but their reach sprawled far beyond the coastline.
The earliest era of AS IT IS was defined by urgency. EPs like Blame It On The Weather and This Mind Of Mine were scrappy, melodic sketches of a band figuring out how to articulate the chaos inside. These releases weren’t polished, but they were honest. They carried the DNA of what would soon become their signature: vulnerability delivered with pop‑punk bite. You can hear the foundations being laid, the emotional candour sharpening, the sense that something bigger was nearing.
That “something” arrived with Never Happy, Ever After. Their debut album detonated them into the scene. Tracks like Dial Tones, Concrete, and Speak Soft captured the panic of early adulthood with hooks sharp enough to leave marks. It was a record built on confession, anxiety, and the quiet terror of growing up. Fans connected because the band didn’t pretend to know how people were feeling, they told the truth, even when it hurt, and that integrity became a source of hope to listeners who were tired of pretending they were fine.
But AS IT IS never stayed still. Their second album, Okay., arrived with brighter colours but heavier truths. It leaned fully into mental health, self‑worth, and the pressure to perform happiness. The title track’s refrain became a rallying cry for fans who needed permission to not be okay. Sonically cleaner, emotionally deeper, Okay. marked the band’s first major evolution. It proved they could grow without losing the heart that made them matter.
Follow up record The Great Depression was darker, theatrical, and concept‑driven, a bold step into territory that split opinion but showcased their ambition. It interrogated societal numbness, emotional burnout, and the commodification of sadness. Songs like The Wounded World and The Fire, The Dark pushed their sound into heavier, more confrontational spaces. This era wasn’t neat, but it was intentional. It showed a band willing to tear down their own foundations to rebuild something braver.
By the time I WENT TO HELL AND BACK arrived, AS IT IS had shapeshifted again, including a change in line up. This album was chaotic, genre‑blurring, and emotionally raw, pulling from pop‑punk, emo‑rap, hyperpop, and alt‑rock. It reflected survival in its least glamorous form. Tracks like IDGAF and I Lie To Me captured the fragmentation of navigating personal upheaval while trying to stay afloat creatively. It was messy in a way that felt purposeful, mirroring the instability of the world it was born into.
Then came the hiatus - announced in January 2024 via a rare Instagram post from Patty Walters, stating, "Here's to another new chapter. It's never goodbye. It's just 'see you around'". Fans weren’t necessarily shocked by this, but it was definitely not a welcome departure. Times changed, people changed, and by August of 2024, the band's social media accounts were wiped and began to hint at a reunion. What came next was more than fans could ask for - Never Happy Ever After X, a re-recording of their debut album Never Happy Ever After, was released, featuring other artists from the UK music scene like HOLDING ABSENCE, ARTIO and NOAHFINNCE. Lead vocalist and guitarist Patty Walters is now joined by Ben Biss on guitar and vocals, Patrick Foley on drums and Alistair Testo on bass, in a new line-up.
Having just released their new self‑titled album, AS IT IS are stepping into a new era. A self‑titled record is always a statement, but for a band who’ve rebuilt themselves more than once, this time it’s a declaration of identity. With anticipation rising and a new chapter unfolding, the band are gearing up for their appearance at BURN IT DOWN FESTIVAL, ahead of a headline tour later this year. For a band like AS IT IS, who’ve rebuilt themselves more than once, stepping onto a stage built for catharsis feels exactly right. It’s not just a performance; it’s a reminder that evolution is survival, and survival is something worth shouting about.
Words: Lou Viner-Flood
Cover Photo: Artemi Falzon
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