As It Is Announces New Album Okay
Brighton, UK’s As It Is has announced the details for their highly-anticipated sophomore album Okay., to release Jan. 20.
“These are by far the most personal and honest songs we’ve ever written,” vocalist Patty Walters explains. “We made a conscious effort to truly push ourselves musically and lyrically, to create something that didn’t feel entirely safe or calculated. We wrote songs about our families, our personal lives, and our struggles more vulnerably than ever before, hoping to encapsulate sincere moments in our lives. We feel a huge sense of pride having created this record, and we’re immensely excited to share it with the world. We love and cherish you all for supporting us and giving us this opportunity.”
Okay. aims to bring a truly relatable and deeply personal story to the band’s audience — a conceptual world that puts listeners in the band’s shoes and conveys a common realization that it’s ‘okay’ to not be ‘okay.’ Working with producer Mike Green (Pierce The Veil, All Time Low), AS IT IS use the record to trek through intimate experiences surrounding their personal lives and everyday battles that they hope will resonate with fans in a unique way, leaving them with lasting encouragement and inspiration.
AS IT IS – The transatlantic pop-rock quintet hails from Brighton, UK consisting of Patty Walters (vocals), Benjamin Biss (vocals, guitar), Andy Westhead (guitar), Patrick Foley (drums), Alistair Testo (bass). As It Is has successfully established an ever-growing, devout fan following with their heart-on-sleeve, honest and relatable lyrics, charged with pop-rock melodies and has steadily built their reputation as one of UK’s brightest new names with the 2015 release of their debut album Never Happy, Ever After, which was noted by Rock Sound as “everything a modern pop-punk album should be,” and by Outburn Magazine as “an impressive first outing that sets the stage for As It Is’ bright future.” The band was noted as one of Alternative Press’ 100 Bands You Need To Know in 2015, voted Best British Newcomer by Rock Sound in their Reader’s Poll, and lead singer Patty Walters was featured on the cover of their New Music Issue. The band has criss-crossed the U.S. as a standout act on the Vans Warped Tour 2015, have shared the stage with Mayday Parade, Real Friends, and This Wild Life, among many others, and was nominated for Best International Band in the Alternative Press Awards 2016. With the release of their second, full-length album Okay, As It Is push themselves both musically and lyrically to craft their most personal and honest record to date, and stand poised for their biggest year yet.
Directed by Joshua Halling, the video is set in the conceptual world surrounding the album, a too-perfect bubble controlled by the fictional Happy Co. The video is an introduction to this world, where its inhabitants are sold on happiness but underlying tensions remain, no matter how much they are force fed said happiness.
Lead singer Patty Walters explains, “‘Pretty Little Distance’ is a song about coping. The song is a cynical and sarcastic view on needing to escape real life for a more convenient reality. This song and the world we created for this record go hand in hand in that way. It’s my favourite video to date, and performing whilst a dance-off was happening in front of our eyes was something incredible, and something I wish would start happening at shows when we play that song. We’re incredibly excited to start showcasing the conceptual, metaphorical world that surrounds this record.”
Pre-order Okay here: https://caroline.lnk.to/okay
