Review Summary: Fun fact Jesper received the promo copy for this album and had to forward it to me
There’s a whole world out there to explore, and it’s eating at Arm’s Length. The Ontario quartet burst onto the scene to laudatory reception with their two foundational EPs and 2022’s
Never Before Seen, Never Again Found, and have revealed enhanced songwriting prowess and sophistication on their long anticipated follow-up. Throughout its consistently engaging forty-six minutes,
There’s A Whole World Out There frantically tackles issues of identity, romanticizes the past with its head in the clouds, and is cruelly dragged back down to earth by the unstoppable passage of time. While the album’s quality occasionally wavers as one ventures deeper into the tracklist, Arm’s Length’s sophomore effort never fails to be memorable, thanks to thematic juxtaposition, unpredictable song structures, and top-notch performances by each member of the band.
As is par for the course for Arm’s Length, and the genre as a whole,
There’s A Whole World Out There’s strongest attribute is how many of its titanic hooks will inevitably get stuck in the listener’s head. From the initial hammer drop of opening track “The World” to the cinematic conclusion of “Morning Person”, Allen Steinberg’s layered vocals and acrobatic melodies never cease to be infectious, and do much of the heavy lifting to elevate merely decent tracks to a position of distinction. While the juxtaposition of jaunty, in-your-face rhythms to soundtrack Steinberg’s despair is a key ingredient of tracks like “Fatal Flaw” and lead single “Funny Face”, tracks like “Palinopsia” slow things down to a crawl to steer things into more overtly emotionally stirring territory with rousing success. Steinberg’s higher register on this track is particularly noteworthy, especially because he manages to keep things clean and opts not to settle into his raspier vocal tones, which remain insufficiently developed to carry the ‘heavier’ sections of the band’s music. Shining examples like “Palinopsia” notwithstanding, the album is truly at its strongest when it locks into the groove of its aforementioned in-your-face happy place. As one wades further into the album, second-half highlights like “Genetic Lottery” and “Halley” stick out like sore thumbs because of their straightforward attitudes and ability to ease up at least 1 to 2% on the melodrama. These faster, more energetic numbers put the talented instrumentalists of Arm’s Length on full display, particularly drummer Jeff Whyte, who carries the band like a planet on his shoulders. Anton DeLost’s exceptional production also shines through in the melodic banjo flourishes that accentuate “Halley”’s larger-than-life guitar tones, a trick that is used to similar effect on “The Wound” and the bait-and-switch that opens “You Ominously End”.
Speaking of “You Ominously End”, this is the moment in which I am sadly obligated to inform the listener of the quality dip that occurs around the album’s midpoint, with this track serving as its harbinger. While the bulk of the record’s unpredictable song structures manage not to hog the spotlight from the rest of the performance on display, “You Ominously End” is loosely structured to the point that it feels rushed, busy, and overwhelming. It’s also the only track on the album to combine each of my personal pet peeves of the Arm’s Length sound, namely Steinberg’s ‘harsher’ vocal stylings, the group’s underdeveloped stripped-down acoustic sound (see “Early Onset” for further evidence of this), and some absolute wet fart lyrics that totally kill the immersion (that first chorus…yikes.) “Early Onset” follows and exhibits the subtlety of a semi truck running over an elementary school class, substituting all attempts at poetic language with the blunt force of the line “You’re the cure for Alzheimer’s / that makes memories appear”. “Genetic Lottery” briefly rockets the listener back into euphoria, only for the plodding “Attic” to follow and make the saving graces of “Halley” and “Morning Person” sound that much sweeter to close the record.
Even in the aftermath of these missteps,
There’s A Whole World Out There remains a fresh and enticing listening experience throughout its entirety, and retains its thematic and experiential flow all the way to its closing acoustic meanderings. It is this writer’s opinion that Arm’s Length demonstrate artistic growth and a desire to draw from a deeper well of musical influences on their second LP, and that even the album’s shortcomings are almost charming in a sense. Perhaps this can be attributed to the band’s constant and disarming sincerity, but regardless of its origins, the ability to make the merely adequate into interesting, and the interesting into captivating, is a telltale sign that a band simply
has it. Arm’s Length
have it, as their newest release proves, and the idea of them continuing to explore the whole world that their sound has to offer is an incredibly exciting prospect.
