Continuing to showcase their transition from bubblegum pop-punk to outspoken emo rock, UK four-piece As It Is have just dropped an emotional new single titled “The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry)” from their upcoming album The Great Depression.
As the song title suggests, As It Is’ newest track tackles the idea that men are meant to be tough as well as other outdated gender stereotypes.
“This song and video tackle toxic masculinity, gender expectations and the long overdue need to rebel and speak out against outdated ideals that to this day continue to threaten individuality,” shared the band. “The eponymous ‘stigma’ is that sense of blemish and shame so often associated with showing and expressing emotion, that causes too many to hide who they are. It is totally acceptable to show feeling; it is real and human to do so, and not something that should be arbitrarily gendered and hidden from view.”
“In these increasingly disconnected times,” the band added, “where empathy is seemingly on a decline at many levels of everyday modern life, it is vital to stand up against such outdated tropes.”
To check out the band’s eye-opening new track, be sure to look below. Afterward, make sure to not only pre-order the band’s new album before it hits stores August 10th but also grab tickets to see them out on the Vans Warped Tour all summer long.
