There’s a flicker of recognition the moment Everything’s On Fire But I’m Fine begins, a feeling that you’ve stepped into a soundtrack written for the exact era we’re all stumbling through. As December Falls combine heartbreak, defiance, nostalgia, and pure adrenaline where it’s vulnerable one moment and then swinging punches the next.
There’s goosebumps as the hair on the back of your neck starts to rise with ‘Burn It All Down.’ The album’s opener feels like the pinnacle point in a movie that grips you tight and doesn’t let go, leading beautifully into the title track which is definitely in the running for a Gen Z theme song. An explosive chorus and a touch of denial mixed in, it hits a little too close to home in a world where, let’s face it, not much is in our control, this song is the outlook of the current generation. Followed by the driven and edgy ‘Ready Set Go,’ As December Falls are setting their audience up for a high energy experience.
If you’ve been on TikTok at all this year, you’ll likely have heard ‘Therapy’ come blaring through your phone’s speaker. It’s an earworm with a brutal breakdown that depicts a therapy like release from other outlets whilst still needing the real thing. Perhaps this is the real Gen Z theme song?
Then we get into the real nitty gritty of the album’s theme: dating & breakups. If the current dating scene was a song, ‘For The Plot’ would be it. Screaming this song at the top of your lungs with your friends after a breakup could do all sorts of healing. It’s the anthem for girlhood and heartache. With the topic continuing for the scatty and fast paced ‘Fall Apart’ before ‘Rewrite’ lets the pain really sink in with its harrowing piano and vocals.
The poetic interlude is short lived though as 2000s style electronic effects scattered throughout the next track take you back to a simpler time. Throw in a catchy chorus and an angelic vocal outro and we have joined As December Falls on the ‘Bathroom Floor.’
The energy only builds as our heartbreak healing wouldn’t be complete without a good ol’ ‘Angry Cry,’ which, if you aren’t careful, will be living rent free in your head for a month. And then there’s a surprising vulnerability to the album’s next track ‘I’m No Good Alone’, despite its classic rock and roll elements that bleed through the lyrics. Pairing the longing and hurt with its incredibly punchy chorus and gutting outro, this track hits an unexpected sore spot.
Where the previous track sits in rawness, the album immediately snaps back into something louder and more unapologetic. ‘Grim Reaper’ and ‘I Can’t Relate’ both SCREAM 2010’s pop with an emo makeover and an iconic guitar solo in the former that’ll have you reaching for your raccoon striped clip in hair extensions and choker. And if that wasn’t enough, the guitar in ‘Sometimes I Hurt My Own Feelings’ goes as hard as Phil Collins did when he was writing the score of Tarzan. Overlayed with a sentiment that most overthinkers can relate to of how those imaginary scenarios come back and bite us.
As Everything’s On Fire, But I’m Fine draws to a close, ADF put salt in the wounds with closer ‘This Isn’t Us.’ A delicate but bold introspective end to the album that’ll break your heart all over again. It’s the kind of album that doesn’t just soundtrack the mess, it sits in it with you, reminding you that falling apart can still feel loud, cathartic, and strangely comforting.
FFO: Flyleaf, Tonight Alive, South Arcade
Recommended Track: I’m No Good Alone