Arm's Length

There’s a song on “There’s A Whole World Out There,” the second album by Canadian four-piece Arm’s Length, called “Palinopsia.” Derived from the Greek for “again” (palin) and “seeing” (opsia), it’s a visual phenomenon marked by the persistent image of something that’s no longer actually there. For Arm’s Length’s frontman, singer, and lyricist Allen Steinberg, the song represents “pure devotion or love towards someone that may no longer be a part of your life.” But it also encapsulates the record as a whole, as Steinberg grapples with the parts of life that are gone, but still linger.

Yet there’s a noticeable shift between the person who wrote this record and the one who wrote the band’s 2022 debut, “Never Before Seen, Never Again Found.” As Steinberg explains, “There’s A Whole World Out There” speaks more to his present self than to the past: "Even though there’s still a good amount of past on it, it’s how I’m dealing with it now, as opposed to being enveloped in it. There’s more of a sense of being on the other side of it, of seeing it with hindsight. The tone has shifted a little. I’m probably just a bit more mature, as my frontal lobe is developing as we speak."

Produced by Anton DeLost, who worked with the band on their debut album and their 2021 EP “Everything Nice,” “There’s A Whole World Out There,” expands Arm’s Length’s sound in line with Steinberg’s personal growth. He wrote the parts for all the instruments, as well as the majority of the lyrics, in isolation, recording them as voice memos before bringing them to drummer Jeff Whyte, who added percussion. While the creative process largely remained in Steinberg’s hands, it was only when the band, including bassist Jeremy Whyte and guitarist Ben Greenblatt, came together that the full potential of the songs was realized. The result is a record where the emotions driving the songs burst to life, building upon the incredible foundation set by their earlier work.

From the opening track, “The World,” “There’s A Whole World Out There” unfolds with the dual torment and exhilaration of what it means to be alive—while acknowledging that everything is also always lost. The wistful longing of “Fatal Flaw” deepens, exploring what it means to be an artist who channels pain into creativity, while “Genetic Lottery” offers a self-aware dig at nostalgia and the weight it’s carried since Steinberg’s youth. Tracks like “The Wound” and “You Ominously End” counterbalance the album’s introspective confessions with dark humor, demonstrating the band’s knack for merging depth with levity.

While much of the album is designed to be played loud and with intensity, there are moments of delicate, tender nuance that provide a window into the resilience that helped Steinberg get through those difficult years. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, he reflects on the trauma that shaped his past with a palpable sense of relief—if not with a smile, at least with an understanding that the damage is done, and moving forward is the only way to heal.

“It’s all about having some hindsight,” Steinberg says. “Being able to look back on the traumas that I talked about on the last record and which were present in my own life. They’re still ever-present on this album, but there’s a different mood and a shift in how I’m talking about the trauma. It’s accepting that the damage is done, and then moving on.”