Never Before Seen, Never Again Found is the debut album from Canadian band Arm’s Length. The album incorporates a lot of different sounds that manage to sound very familiar to listeners of the band, but still make the album sound unique as its own project. Pop punk, emo, and hardcore influences were the most visible when listening to the album, and the emotional content of many of the songs is perfect for the colder weather coming soon.
“Overture” the album’s opener, implements string instruments into the song, which gives the song some added emotional depth. “Muscle Memory” is a song that starts out slow, and builds up as the song progresses. It’s a powerful effect that amplifies the emotions that the song seeks to invoke. “Formative Age” and “Everything As I Knew It” had some of the strongest lyrics on the album, which is no surprise since one of Arm’s Length’s biggest strengths are their song lyrics. “Object Permanence” and “In Loving Memory” were perfect choices for singles, as both of those songs represented the album well without giving too much of it away. It gave listeners the perfect preview of some of what to expect, while still keeping some of the newer musical aspects hidden until the album was released. “Dirge” was a perfect album closer as it wraps up the 11 songs and leaves listeners satisfied with everything they just heard.
This album was a fantastic listen, and a strong contender for album of the year. This is also one of the best debut projects from a band in the scene in years, and I personally am so excited to see some of these new songs live. Speaking of live music, Arm’s Length is currently on tour supporting Young Culture and Super American, and if you can make a date near you, you won’t regret it!
