AS IT IS

Hailing from Brighton, England, As It Is formed as a pop-punk quintet in 2012 under American-born frontman Patty Walters, whose melodic and earnest approach drew from emo traditions and echoed the early output of Taking Back Sunday alongside the Starting Line. The lineup also featured singer/guitarist Benjamin Biss, guitarist Andy Westhead, bassist Alistair Testo, and drummer Patrick Foley. Their initial output consisted of four independent EPs, opening with the 2012 release Two Track before both electric and acoustic editions of the Blenheim Place EP arrived in 2013, with This Mind of Mine following in 2014. By that point the group had cultivated a robust U.K. audience and extended its live reach across Europe.

After inking a deal with Fearless Records, the band headed to Florida to cut its debut full-length alongside producer James Paul Wisner (Paramore, Dashboard Confessional). Never Happy, Ever After surfaced in April 2015. A packed summer performing every date on the Warped Tour preceded a return to the U.K., where much of 2016 was spent tracking the next album, Okay, which emerged in January 2017; guitarist Andy Westhead departed soon afterward.

The dark and brooding, semi-conceptual The Great Depression appeared in 2018. Structured around mental-health themes and split into four parts, the record included a guest appearance by Underøath’s Aaron Gillespie. Benjamin Biss and Patrick Foley exited shortly after its release. Reduced to a trio, As It Is issued the single “IDGAF” in early 2021 and followed it with “I Lie to Me” that August; both tracks featured on the 2022 LP I Went to Hell and Back.