There’s no joy in calling Did You Ask To Be Set Free? As Everything Unfolds’ worst album. If anything, the way they’ve bounced back so soon after the passing of drummer Jamie Gowers is admirable in the extreme. That’s hardly some insignificant matter, and the personal stakes of Gowers being vocalist Charlie Rolfe’s partner will have inevitably made this sting all the more. So, regardless of anything else, this is no insignificant thing for As Everything Unfolds for carry out.
But, yeah…Did You Ask To Be Set Free? is As Everything Unfolds’ worst album. It’s not dead on arrival or anything, but at the same time, it’s obvious what’s not working, especially if you’re an existing fan. At their best, As Everything Unfolds make metalcore that’s all about the sweep and scale, a fine way to cover when there’s not so much innovation to hand. So while the deliberate move away from metalcore can work, you’re almost left with a band cutting the legs out from underneath them. For the pop-metal they’re exploring, broaching ‘metal’ as any kind of descriptor sometimes feels a bridge too far.
If that were all—a genre change that might be unflattering of their skillset—it’d likely be enough, though still more salvageable. Instead, Did You Ask To Be Set Free? assigns itself this toothless production job that makes As Everything Unfolds sound markedly weaker on all fronts. From the word ‘go’, the synthwave tread of Denial gestures at what’s to come—an alt-metal sound palette that’s blustery but ill-defined, and really below the ironclad power that As Everything Unfolds are capable of. And that’s one of the good outcomes, too. Look no further than Reverie for the opposite, where emaciated guitars grumble as if to bemoan their own underpowered state, while louder drums are the focus of the frame and their rigid slap is made even more apparent.
Altogether, you’ve got what’s easily the most hit-or-miss collection of songs that As Everything Unfolds have ever put their name to. Unfortunate or outright poor decisions abound, and it’s a toss-up as to whether the band can actually withstand them. What You Wanted and Idols find themselves trying to reclaim something heavier, though end up at the mercy of this clipped, shallow mix. Elsewhere, the whirring synth drizzled over Point Of View and purposeless jagged edges of Cut The Lies zero in on how messy this all feels.
Conversely, you feel the difference when As Everything Unfolds lock in, no matter how far they stray from their original template. For as utterly incongruous as a drum ‘n’ bass influence reads on paper, the grittier, meaner slant lent to Set In Flow does work. There’s even a languid, rippling ballad in Edge Of Forever that suffers from the clandestine mix (as much as this does), but it’s about as good as a song like this was ever going to be.
Charlie Rolfe is also a considerable boon across Did You Ask To Be Set Free?, probably the most consistent one it has. She’s always been a great singer, now with the added benefit of stabilising what mightn’t be all the way right, like on Point Of View or Idols. Similarly, she’s perfectly capable of elevating what’s already good. Gasoline is already a surprisingly competent swing into pop-rock, with Rolfe only sharpening it further for an easy album highlight. What You Wanted, too, pits her against Bury Tomorrow’s Dani Winter-Bates and she easily holds her own in the ensuing scream-off. They’re easily the stars of the track, and not just because yet another instance of less-weighty-than-preferred production forces them to be.
It really is a case of finding what works and making do on Did You Ask To Be Set Free?. Right up to the end with Setting Sun—a closer with the shape of an epic final note that isn’t mirrored in its trudging progression—it’s deeply uneven, and hard to call all that satisfying. For as much as As Everything Unfolds believe they’re broadening their horizons, they’ve never felt more hemmed-in than on here. Even in the past when you legitimately couldn’t point out an idea all of their own, they at least had that going for them. And while it’s unquestionably a good thing that As Everything Unfolds continue to fight on forward, this isn’t the best way to do it.
For fans of: Dream State, Future Palace, As December Falls
‘Did You Ask To Be Set Free?’ by As Everything Unfolds is released on 10th April on Century Media Records.
Words by Luke Nuttall
