Rocker (feedbot)
Gold Member
Arm’s Length have quietly become one of the most exciting names in the emo revival, building a loyal following with their blend of heartfelt lyricism, soaring guitar work, and raw vulnerability. Since the release of their debut LP ‘Never Before Seen, Never Again Found’, in 2021, the Ontario-based trio have kept busy, cutting their teeth on the road with countless tour dates and festival slots, including appearances at Manchester Punk Festival and The Fest in Florida. Their latest offering, ‘There’s A Whole World Out There’, sees them step things up in every way. Listeners have drawn comparisons between Arm’s Length and the likes of Title Fight, Balance and Composure, and this album is a gut-wrenching blend of this signature sound and shoegaze-laced post rock to deliver something both heavier and more expansive. It’s the sound of a band growing into themselves, without losing any of the emotion that made people care in the first place.
The record opens with ‘The World,’ an atmospheric curtain-raiser that lays the emotional groundwork for what’s to come. ‘Fatal Flaw’ offers a possible hint as to where their name came from; ‘the moon keeps the sun at arm’s length, for the fear she would get burned’. It’s this kind of lyricism that sets them apart, and completely removes the possibility of labelling them ‘another whiny emo band’ from the equation. From there, things hit hard with ‘Funny Face,’ one of the lead singles, and easily one of the band’s most intense offerings to date. In a press release announcing the band’s signing to Pure Noise Records and the release of this album, guitarist and vocalist Allen Steinberg described it as one of their darkest tracks, and it shows, both musically and lyrically. It deals with themes of co-dependency and emotional manipulation, delivered with throat-shredding conviction and a towering chorus that practically begs to be screamed back live.
Follow-up single ‘You Ominously End’ continues to push the boundaries, blending Arm’s Length’s emo foundations with an off-kilter alt-country flair. It’s an odd combination on paper, but in practice, it works remarkably well. The track’s haunting refrain and gritty instrumentation add to its sense of dread and fragility, tackling mental illness and the feeling of isolation it often brings. If there’s a centrepiece to the record’s emotional arc, this might be it.
Elsewhere, ‘Palinopsia’ and ‘The Wound’ dive into themes of memory, grief, and the kind of emotional scarring that lingers just beneath the surface. The former takes its name from a visual disorder involving afterimages, which feels fitting for a track so steeped in regret and rumination. ‘Early Onset’ and ‘Genetic Lottery’ shift the focus toward familial trauma, chronic illness, and the burden of inherited pain; subject matter that could easily drag in lesser hands but is delivered here with sensitivity and balance.
One of the album’s greatest strengths is its pacing. Songs like ‘Attic’ and ‘Halley’ provide moments of relative calm, with softer instrumentation and more introspective lyrics that allow the record room to breathe. It all leads to closer ‘Morning Person,’ a stunning and slow-burning finale that feels like both a release and a reckoning, emotionally exhausted, but somehow still hopeful.
Much of ‘There’s A Whole World Out There’ was shaped by Steinberg’s mental health struggles in the years following their debut, and that honesty radiates through every track. Produced once again by Anton DeLost, the album maintains the raw, confessional energy that fans have come to love while layering in richer arrangements, including strings from Bonnie Brooksbank and piano by Alex Scalzo-Brown. It’s a more expansive record, but never one that loses touch with its roots.
With this release, Arm’s Length haven’t just avoided the sophomore slump. They’ve blown right past it. ‘There’s A Whole World Out There’ is not only a huge step forward; it’s a powerful statement of intent. This is a band with stories to tell, and they’re telling them better than ever.
KATHRYN EDWARDS
The record opens with ‘The World,’ an atmospheric curtain-raiser that lays the emotional groundwork for what’s to come. ‘Fatal Flaw’ offers a possible hint as to where their name came from; ‘the moon keeps the sun at arm’s length, for the fear she would get burned’. It’s this kind of lyricism that sets them apart, and completely removes the possibility of labelling them ‘another whiny emo band’ from the equation. From there, things hit hard with ‘Funny Face,’ one of the lead singles, and easily one of the band’s most intense offerings to date. In a press release announcing the band’s signing to Pure Noise Records and the release of this album, guitarist and vocalist Allen Steinberg described it as one of their darkest tracks, and it shows, both musically and lyrically. It deals with themes of co-dependency and emotional manipulation, delivered with throat-shredding conviction and a towering chorus that practically begs to be screamed back live.
Follow-up single ‘You Ominously End’ continues to push the boundaries, blending Arm’s Length’s emo foundations with an off-kilter alt-country flair. It’s an odd combination on paper, but in practice, it works remarkably well. The track’s haunting refrain and gritty instrumentation add to its sense of dread and fragility, tackling mental illness and the feeling of isolation it often brings. If there’s a centrepiece to the record’s emotional arc, this might be it.
Elsewhere, ‘Palinopsia’ and ‘The Wound’ dive into themes of memory, grief, and the kind of emotional scarring that lingers just beneath the surface. The former takes its name from a visual disorder involving afterimages, which feels fitting for a track so steeped in regret and rumination. ‘Early Onset’ and ‘Genetic Lottery’ shift the focus toward familial trauma, chronic illness, and the burden of inherited pain; subject matter that could easily drag in lesser hands but is delivered here with sensitivity and balance.
One of the album’s greatest strengths is its pacing. Songs like ‘Attic’ and ‘Halley’ provide moments of relative calm, with softer instrumentation and more introspective lyrics that allow the record room to breathe. It all leads to closer ‘Morning Person,’ a stunning and slow-burning finale that feels like both a release and a reckoning, emotionally exhausted, but somehow still hopeful.
Much of ‘There’s A Whole World Out There’ was shaped by Steinberg’s mental health struggles in the years following their debut, and that honesty radiates through every track. Produced once again by Anton DeLost, the album maintains the raw, confessional energy that fans have come to love while layering in richer arrangements, including strings from Bonnie Brooksbank and piano by Alex Scalzo-Brown. It’s a more expansive record, but never one that loses touch with its roots.
With this release, Arm’s Length haven’t just avoided the sophomore slump. They’ve blown right past it. ‘There’s A Whole World Out There’ is not only a huge step forward; it’s a powerful statement of intent. This is a band with stories to tell, and they’re telling them better than ever.
KATHRYN EDWARDS