Stand Atlantic Release New Album “WAS HERE” – Album Review

Review by Amber Bintliff – 

With their most diverse and hard-hitting project yet, certified cuties of the music industry Stand Atlantic are back with their fourth studio album WAS HERE. Following up 2022’s f.e.a.r. seemed
like a daunting task to take on, but this new record has single-handedly proved that STAT (their most frequently used abbreviation) are truly killer at what they do. Their sound is ever-evolving
and truly irreplicable.

It begins with “WAKE UP-SIT DOWN-SHUT UP” and immediately transports you to the dark place this album faces head first. The instrumental of this track is strong, with forceful drum
beats and synth-driven elements throughout. Lead singer Bonnie Fraser’s vocals kick in at full-force, lamenting about her struggles. “Ain’t it cynical? Make it beautiful / Should I cry my sad
soul to sleep? / Feels like nobody’s savin’ me” tell the vulnerable truth of struggling and feeling like there’s no way out.

“GIRL$” featuring PVRIS and Bruses is the first of the two collaboration tracks on WAS HERE. It’s a confident and empowering track that embraces feminine rage and showcases the refusal
to be objectified and put into boxes by others solely based on their gender. The second collaboration track sees Stand Atlantic teaming up with Sueco for “NOSE BLEED” which features lyrics sung from both sides about a turbulent and toxic relationship. Next up in the tracklist, “LOVE U ANYWAY,” is the complete opposite, however. It’s the first actual love song ever released in their discography with a lighter, more pop-inspired instrumental. It’s a sweet sentiment that features softer vocals and a sense of vulnerability from Fraser.

“KISSIN’ KILLER COBRAS” is arguably, in my opinion, one of the best songs Stand Atlantic have released to date. It embraces the heavier aspects they’ve adopted on this record, with an insane guitar riff and Fraser’s metalcore-adjacent screaming. It’s confident, compelling, intense, and everything you could ever want in a song. This continues with “CRIMINAL” featuring Polaris and “WARZ0NE,” which are intense and in-your-face explosive.

There are so many raw and emotional moments found within WAS HERE. “17” is one of them and serves as a relatable piece to those who carry the lasting effects of traumatic experiences with them everyday. With lyrics expressing “I took a piece of the darkness with me at seventeen,” and “Took all you could get and left me shipwrecked,” Fraser takes on a new flight of rage in this song for the pain she felt at 17 years old. Her repetition at the end of the song that quickly turns into screams of wishing she had never met this person hits you right in the gut. Additionally, “17 // REPRIZE [ONE TAKE]” takes on the more somber approach to this anger found in the original. It’s slower, with a piano focused instrumental that finds Bonnie expressing that this hurt lives deep within her, but “whatever I’ll live.”

“G.A.G.” is another song featuring female pronouns that’s softer compared to the rest of the record. “ROCKSTAR” is the most fun, almost carefree track on WAS HERE that pokes fun at people with enormous egos. Lastly, the first single from WAS HERE, “KILL[H]ER,” serves as a perfect closure to the album. It has everything the rest of the album brings to the table. All the heavier elements, the confidence, and everything that makes Stand Atlantic the band that they’ve become.

This album encapsulates every emotion that comes along with finding yourself. It’s proof of the emotional turmoil it takes to truly reach the goal of acceptance and happiness in your own skin. WAS HERE has so many strong points. There was genuinely not a moment of this album where I wasn’t audibly saying “wow.” Each track is such a treat, and if I was to truly dive into all of my thoughts regarding this album you’d be reading 5 million words on your screen. Stand Atlantic have proved with WAS HERE that they’ll continue to make music that feels true to themselves and they aren’t afraid to switch things up