Arm’s Length - There’s a Whole World Out There
2025 • PURE NOISE RECORDS • EMO/PUNK
85/100
On their second album, There’s a Whole World Out There–out on May 16 on Pure Noise Records–Ontario four-piece emo outfit Arm’s Length relies on the formula that got them here in the first place. The same themes and metaphors appear across TAWWOT and their 2022 debut, Never Before Seen, Never Again Found: overanalyzing relationships, physical and mental maladies, the blessing-curse dichotomy of life, seeking and finding, astrological fixtures and phenomena, and deep, occasionally self-detrimental devotion. The same is true of their musical choices. The band–comprised of lyricist-vocalist-frontperson Allen Steinberg, bassist Benjamin Greenblatt, and brothers Jeff and Jeremy Whyte on drums and guitar, respectively–excels at layering earnest, strained vocals over ever-expanding guitars and punctuating drums. The result are singalongs that balance believable specificity with relatable generality, bundled in mosh-inducing peaks and breath-catching lulls.
This album has two possible interpretations; either it is retread material in an old formula, or Arm’s Length has found their lane, honed their craft, and gained perspective. I’m inclined toward the latter.
Steinberg wrote most of NBSNAG while a teenager, and when tracking it, he was “the most mentally ill” he had ever been. As the band has grown, their profile has increased, and they’ve toured with more established bands, headlined their own tours, and had “a lot more time to reflect on that past shit,” Steinberg told The Alternative in an interview.
After that reflection, Steinberg spent summer 2024 writing TAWWOT on his acoustic guitar, before bringing the songs to the rest of the band to fill out. Putting some time between a painful event and writing about it can offer perspective, clarity. But, you’re never guaranteed to get that time: “Time will heal me / will I stick around to see it? / Got nowhere else to be / but the grass is always greener,” Steinberg observes on “The Wound,” and, “Another trip around the sun / why does it feel like one too much?” on “Fatal Flaw.”
Much of TAWWOT exists in the tension of sacrificing the comfort of what is known, even if it is harmful, with the fear of the unknown, which might or might not be better. We do this to ourselves (“Can’t stay in one spot / no dream destination / is it self-sabotage / or self-preservation?” on “Early Onset”) and to others (“Was I selfish for keeping you close? / When there’s a whole world out there / and you would have never known” on opener “The World”). This Schrödinger’s cat situation is one everyone finds themselves in by virtue of being a person; the future is simultaneously better and worse, and the only way to truly find out is to launch headlong into it.
When we do evolve, explore, and grow, returning bittersweetly reveals that we never really left. Anybody who has visited home and found it unrecognizable can relate: “Drove back to my hometown / but I can’t find our old house anymore / got good sense of direction / I just didn’t expect it between all the chain stores,” goes the bridge and emotional climax of “Palinopsia,” which is a combination of the Greek words for “seeing” and “again.” The phenomenon of “palinopsia” occurs when one sees something that used to be there but is no longer.
Musically, Arm’s Length claims influence by artists across a musical spectrum: beloved emo legends such as The Hotelier and Taking Back Sunday, commercially popular and critically ignored alternative pop-rock trio The Band CAMINO, exhilarating hardcore group Vein.fm, and even folk-pop star Noah Kahan. Throw this or their debut on during a road trip, and the easily accessible yet rich songs suck you in, with cathartic breakdowns and bridges galore.
Sonic highlights are the breakdown on “You Ominously End,” the syncopation on verse one of “Genetic Lottery,” and the guitar solo on “Halley.” Throughout, the decibels rise and fall to accentuate the lyrics. A banjo accompanies about half the songs, their most significant instrumental experiment. This album also sounds fuller than NBSNAG because they introduced a twelve-string guitar to the mix. A particularly touching moment is “Early Onset,” the quietest Arm’s Length song, which asks “why stay worried / for what you can’t control?” before easing into a strings-guided breakdown. These elements show Arm’s Length operating at the limits of and maximizing their formula. TAWWOT does not break new ground, but for their fans, it does not need to.
Ultimately, this album is exactly what Arm’s Length was supposed to make. There may be a whole world out there to explore, different music to make, but as they tell us on “Palinopsia,” “you know where to find me / it’s not in my nature to go that far.”
PLAYER COMP: MIKAL BRIDGES – No frills, not going to add many new elements to his game, but reliable, consistent, and liable to wow you from time-to-time