As It Is are already ramping things up after announcing their
comeback earlier this month: as well as being confirmed for next year’s Slam Dunk, the
pop-punks have just unveiled details of a brand-new compilation record.
Entitled A Decade Uneventful: B-Sides & Rarities (2012 –
2022), this 25-track collection is due out on November 20 via Slam Dunk Records,
with guitarist/vocalist Ben Biss enthusing: “We started this band over a decade
ago with little more than the hope of playing some shows with our friends. It
is in this spirit that we are reunited, so the only place that made sense to
kick it all off was Slam Dunk. A festival the band has played five times over
the past 10 years and that has always supported, not only our band but the
scene as a whole. The platform it’s given us to connect with people is far
beyond what any of us envisioned when starting this band.
“We’re also excited that our relationship with Slam Dunk is
evolving, the collection of B-sides and rarities is something we’ve been
wanting to make happen for many years, and Slam Dunk Records are finally making
our dream rarities project a reality!”
The first taste of A Decade Uneventful comes in the form of 2017’s
Balloons, which Ben says “felt like a very fitting song for us to release upon
our return, written after a difficult year, somewhere between okay. and The
Great Depression, this song is about confronting our fear that the band felt
like it was ending. Listening to this song back seven years after it was written,
after everything we’ve been through to be here again, it holds a very important
place in our hearts and the history of this band.
“We definitely needed some time away from this band for us to realise how special it is,” he adds. “The response to our return has been truly mind-blowing and emotional for all of us and we couldn’t be more excited for 2025!”