AOA – release blistering pop punk single ‘It’s Just a Formality’

Almost since its inception people have been quick to utter ‘Punk is Dead’, AOA are here to tell you that nothing could be further from truth. New single ‘It’s Just A Formality’ is a bright and bold adrenaline rush of Gilman Street influenced pop-punk. Wearing their influences on their sleeves the band draws inspiration from Green Day, The Offspring and Blink-182 while staying rooted in, and being proud of their working-class backgrounds. The band aims to write songs that reflect the struggles of those growing up in their surroundings and in doing so amplify their voices. Front and center of this is the struggle with mental health. While ‘It’s Just a Formality’ might, on the face of it, be bouncy fun party-punk rock song, lyrically it deals with isolation, loneliness, disconnection and social anxiety. Unfortunately, all too common themes, especially amongst young working class people. Previous singles earned the band slots at Belfast’s iconic festival Féile an Phobail and Mandela Hall and caught the attention of local media and radio. New single ‘It’s Just a Formality’ cements their place on the Belfast scene as a voice that cannot be ignored.

AOA were born in true pop punk fashion after a friend hit someone with a chair, was suspended from school and couldn’t make a show. Forcing Adam Din(drums) and Jake Fox(bass) into the orbit of Caloan Fitzsimons(vocals/guitar) and Owen Crummey(lead guitar). With the former meeting the later for the first time at a soundcheck for their gig together. The song basically writes itself..

 
Debut EP ‘Whataboutisms’ marked their introduction to the scene, and gave the band space to experiment with different sounds and approaches. On new single ‘It’s Just a Formality’ the band fully embrace their pop-punk roots and in doing so have found their identity. A blistering three and a half minutes of buzzsaw guitars, punishing drums and razor-sharp melodies that would make Billie-Joe sit up and take notice.

The track wastes no time as Adam’s machine gun snare roll propels the song forward from the outset. A wall of guitars come tearing out of the speakers before the track drops down giving Caloan some space to come in, a darker verse punctuated by Jake’s bass as it provides a melodic counterpoint to the vocals while guitars chug in the background keeping the pace. A pre-chorus sounds like the clouds parting before the blinding euphoria of the chorus. The second verse switches things up as staccato guitars and drums provide bullet hole punctuation marks to a vocal hook. As we hit the middle, a short break down allows us to catch our breath before the band start to rev up again for the final run home. Jake and Owen’s backing vocals add a new texture for the end of the song, and work perfectly with Caloan’s. This bouncy, adrenaline filled track is juxtaposed against lyrics that deal primarily with social anxiety and the isolation that can accompany that. In a case of art imitating life, the bouncy nature of the music masks the underlying emotional depth of the song. Lines like ‘Everybody’s dancing, I think I’m lost cuz I am standing all alone, And I can see you laughing, I think I need a hand, I’m losing what it means to live at all’, perfectly the capture the crippling feeling of feeling alone in a crowded room.

When it came time to record the track the band turned to Michael Bell in Belfast’s iconic Start Together Studios. Having worked together before the band and Michael had already built up a creative shorthand, allowing them to build on and further refine the band’s sound into what we hear on the new single. The band spent time carefully crafting the wall of guitars on the track, aiming to capture the energy and sound of their live performances.
‘It’s Just a Formality’ is anything but as AOA bring a sense of authenticity to a genre that often suffers from cookie-cutter syndrome. Pulling from their own personal experiences and surroundings instills the track with a truth that can’t be ignored. Production that captures the band’s live sound and energy showcases the considered songwriting and earworm melodies that are sure to become a signature of the band.