It’s almost impossible for anyone outside of the As Everything Unfolds camp to fully appreciate what has gone into making their third album Did You Ask To Be Set Free? Even for longtime fans who have been supporting “AEU” since the early days. The High Wycombe post-hardcore / synth metal group have been through so much since the release of 2023’s Ultraviolet. With the passing of drummer Jamie Gowers almost two years ago, the band went through the hardest of emotional turmoils, particularly for frontwoman Charlie Rolfe, who was not only Jamie’s bandmate but also his partner.
Faced with the difficult choice of whether to call it a day, or to keep going (at that point the band had written about half of what was to become Did You Ask To Be Set Free?), Charlie and the others, keyboard / synths player Jon Cass, guitarist Adam Kerr and bassist George Hunt, wanted to finish the album and have the band continue. A new label home was also found for the band in Century Media Records.
When listened to in full, Did You Ask To Be Set Free? does feel like an album of two halves in points. Songs that were perhaps written before and after the trauma the band has gone through. But there are also more layers to it than that. Charlie has spoken in various interviews on this album cycle about her love for sci-fi and world building, and that is also evident on several tracks.
Opener Denial is, rather understandably from the title, equal parts dark and bleak. The breakdown, and Charlie’s accompanying vocal are full of raw emotion, and it’s not the last time one can say this about this album. In contrast, Gasoline is upbeat, almost approaching pop punk territory on the sparky chorus. It will forever also be known in the AEU fandom as “the cheese toastie song”, after Charlie’s admission that the ideas for the song first came to her while she was making lunch. One of the high points of the album, early single Point Of View, covers toxic relationships in effortless style. There’s some lovely Jon Cass synth subtly underpinning this song, with it being one of As Everything Unfolds’ melodic songs in their catalogue. Find Another Way is a melodic and emotional heavy hitter, and definitely feels like it could have been one of the tracks written towards the end of the album process.
Moving through the album, Cut The Lies has some funky bass and some exquisite drum fills – perhaps the best the rhythm section of As Everything Unfolds has ever sounded. This is also a song that when it goes hard, it goes in full force (think Flip Side on Ultraviolet, minus the nu metal aspects). This can also be said about the album’s first single, the Blade Runner inspired Set In Flow, full of samples and electronics layered into what this band does better than almost every other in their space – gritty, emotional post hardcore – while also managing to not sound like anyone else at the same time.
With Bury Tomorrow having taken As Everything Unfolds out on their first run of shows a few months after Jamie’s passing and the subsequent friendship that established between the two bands, it feels right that Dani Winter-Bates makes a welcome and imposing guest appearance on What You Wanted. The following Idols keeps things fast and hard, full of beats, it wouldn’t be out of place at a heavy metal rave.
The end of Did You Ask To Be Set Free? brings everything full circle. The wistful Edge Of Forever tees up the album closer, Setting Sun, beautifully. When you know what it’s about, Setting Sun is heartbreaking. It is done in such a way that it will resonate fiercely with anyone who has been through loss, and Adam’s wonderful guitar solo with Charlie’s vocals over the top into the bridge is just one of a handful of standout moments.
While not directly relevant to a review of the album’s musical content, the visuals throughout this album campaign have been outstanding. This is something As Everything Unfolds have always been extremely good at, and they have nailed it again, on everything from photography to the various music videos, and have contributed hugely to the world building aspects alluded to earlier.
Did You Ask To Be Set Free? can only be described as a triumph. The fact that it was completed at all is a personal triumph. The fact that it is as good as it is both a personal and professional triumph, and a credit to the endurance, talent and drive of As Everything Unfolds to make the best of even the hardest situations.
Did You Ask To Be Set Free? is out now on Century Media Records. As Everything Unfolds play the 2026 Download Festival on the Saturday of the festival on The Dogtooth Stage.
