Okay (album)

Background

Immediately following As It Is' 2015 album Never Happy, Ever After, the band played shows across the US on the 2015 run of Vans Warped Tour. While on tour lead singer, Patty Walters, struggled with depression and his mental health. He started writing songs during this time in order to cope. During the following year Walters came out to his bandmates about his state and started going through professional therapy.

The band went to Los Angeles to start recording the album with producer Mike Green, who's worked with other popular punk bands such as Pierce the Veil and Paramore, and collaborated to finish and write several songs in-studio.

Concept

It was stated several times during promotion of the album the main theme of the album is, "The idea that it's okay to not be okay" making a statement about mental health issues and the stigma surrounding them. The concept of "faking a smile" is repeated several times throughout the album.

Songs on the album cover topics such as depression, anxiety, divorce, loss, and heartbreak.

The aesthetic for the album's promotion was heavily inspired by the 1950´s, which was part of an intentional decision to contrast the happy bright sound with the darker and personal lyrical themes.

Style

With Mike Green in the studio, the band went for a more polished upbeat rock sound sound, moreso than the more raw "emo" sound seen on some songs on Never Happy.

Release

The album was announced on 22 September 2016, as well as revealing the album's artwork and track listing. In the same announcement, a music video was released for "Okay". "Okay" was released as a single a day later. On 14 October, a 1950s-themed music video was released for "Pretty Little Distance", and the song was released as a single. Okay. was released on 20 January 2017.

Personnel

Patty Walters - lead vocals, acoustic guitar

Andy Westhead- lead guitar, backing vocals

Ben Bisso- lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Alistair Testo- bass guitar, backing vocals

Patrick Foley- drums, percussion