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Credit: Zach Pigg

After much anticipation, Gainesville-formed, Nashville-based alternative pop rock band Arrows In Action have finally released their highly anticipated debut album Built To Last. After spending the last few months dropping singles like "Head In The Clouds," "High," and "Over It," the band, formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Victor Viramontes-Pattison, drummer Jesse Frimmel, and lead guitarist Matt Fowler, have delivered a carefully crafted body of work that is equal parts heart-wrenching and mosh-inducing.

The record, produced by Dan Swank, is full of themes about growth, personal uncertainty, and nostalgia, and overall, has something for everyone. While we would love to list every song we loved on the album, we have the honor of the band themselves sharing their track-by-track thoughts about their long-awaited record!

Made For This

"Made For This" kicks off the record with a 5SOS/Foo Fighters sound reminiscent of our 2019-2020 era with a hopeful, lofty, frantic message that asks, "Am I good enough?" addressing imposter syndrome and trying to quell a need for validation by "putting on a show" and trying to "outshine my shadow" before thrashing into a sneering post-chorus. 

[It] pokes fun at the pop-punk stereotype of "getting out of this town," winking at the sound on upcoming songs like "Wide Eyes," "Learned My Lesson," and "Built To Last."

"Made for This" looks imposter syndrome in the face and asks the existential question, "What was I made for if I wasn't made for this"?

Over It

"Over It" brushes off the previous song's question and starts with a call to Mom, saying everything's okay but then making light of the fact that even though we've been following this dream, we're still comparing ourselves to others, fearing failure, and being broke, resulting in a general feeling of apathy and aimlessness. Sonically, it feels less inspiring or emotional than the previous track, but that's the point - it's music to shake it to and shrug off worries, saying "whatever."

"Over It" harps on the feelings of being broke, worn down, and behind where you, "think" you should be in life.

"Over It" is the musical equivalent of canceling plans and ignoring responsibilities. It expresses major insecurities that come with comparing oneself to others and feeling aimless but shrugs them off in exchange for snarky apathy. Matt actually tracked the saxophone on the bridge in this song, matching the guitar lead that follows into the final chorus. We wrote this song with Spencer Jordan and Knox Morris shortly after moving to Nashville.

High

This one starts to sonically warp from the more familiar pop-rock into new territory (much like the subject matter) that feels sleeker, sexier, and more fun. This duality of being disrespected but turned on by it results from the apathy and lack of direction described in the previous track, leading you further from the questions posed in the intro track. Since the big questions are too hard to answer, I'm trying to ignore my doubts by filling space with casual sex and an unhealthy relationship I don't want to quit (fun first little hint of vices or "highs" being a root problem addressed in Built To Last). Last bit of fun before we start getting emotional.

Until this point, we've seen self-doubt followed by apathy, leading to cheap thrills lacking substance before questioning the longevity and lack of connection. 

"High" is a diversion from the rest of the record both lyrically and sonically - it is the unhealthy yet sexy quick fix that keeps the existential questions at bay. 

Entropy

"Entropy" tackles the melancholy of leaving home for the first time - watching the highlight reels of others' lives while feeling isolated begs the question, "Why did I leave?" 

It is a song for Gainesville (our hometown) and for anyone who got sick of their hometown but now they miss it. It is an anthem for anyone who feels like they tried to take steps to improve by leaving old habits and haunts behind only to feel lost and alone in this new place where everyone seems perfect. The feeling of high anxiety where you want to run away and go back to the shitty place to know better than this because it's a familiar melancholy. 

It asks, "Why did I come here? Did I make a mistake? What if I'm not good enough for this? If I even have to ask, maybe I shouldn't be doing any of this."

This song pulled a lot of sonic inspiration from Bad Suns, The Aces, and The Band CAMINO. We are really proud of the guitar solo in the bridge, which plays on the melody of the main hook.

Our friend Andrew Pacheco (who produced this song) tracked fretless bass on the song for a groovy feel. 

The Credits (feat. Loveless & Magnolia Park)

It's about reminiscing on past loves and wondering why I haven't moved past these relationships that clearly taught me so much but still feel like the only love I'll ever know.

"The Credits" is a brutally honest retrospective on lost loves - it addresses the desire to "re-play" and edit the past after learning from one's mistakes, much like editing a movie.

The Weeknd was a big influence for this song, starting with that pulsing synth that turned into the main loop of the song. 

Loveless and Magnolia Park both wrote their parts for this song. Listening to each of their parts for the first time, we knew this would be a special track. 

Put You Through Me

This song is about realizing you're still unable to fully commit to someone. This is the first romantic encounter since "High" and is the complete opposite, recognizing a lack of emotional availability and prioritizing honesty over base desires for the first time. 

"Put You Through Me" is a heartbreak anthem for anyone who wants so badly to pursue a relationship but knows that they are not in the mental state to handle it. 

This was the first song we wrote after moving to Nashville, and it kickstarted the Built to Last album writing cycle. The new sounds and experimentation sonically gave us a launchpad for the rest of the tracks on the song. 

Spencer Jordan, who co-wrote this song, is also one of the leads in the music video! 

Learned My Lesson

It's the interlude of the record; we take a second to sit back and reflect on everything that led us to this point, and this is the first instance of realizing the toll that past mistakes and selfishness have taken - maybe I've focused on the wrong things? All these things I thought were important don't mean anything, and I've left myself isolated.

"Learned My Lesson" follows the first spark of self-awareness from questioning one's values. "Have I been wrong this whole time?" 

This song was a fun time to make, and we enjoyed every second of it. We feel like it has a lot of our personalities baked into it, like the little radio snippets or the F***! before chorus 3. 

Wide Eyes (feat. The Home Team)

"Wide Eyes" begins by deciding I can't think about all these mistakes from the past I can't take back anymore, so it's time to start thinking differently. I had all these preconceived notions about moving to a songwriter city, taking a leap of faith, and believing in myself meant as an artist, but every day I've learned something or met someone that's taught me not everything is how it seems. Not everyone gets to do this; it's a privilege, and there are fuckin snakes and dark paths to go down if you're not careful. There's no getting around this, and you can't please everybody. I can't change that, and I'm not going to pretend that I can. This life is only what we make of it, and it ends with an almost sarcastic "Hope you're okay with that."

Even at the start of this song, we knew we wanted The Home Team featured on it, and as the song really developed, it only became clearer that we had to make it happen. This song was recorded, produced, and mixed by Kyle Black in Los Angeles!

"Wide Eyes" is a reality check, the career version of "don't meet your heroes," but find self-confidence in your own version of success. 

Seeing Red

Our first "get the fuck up song" - we're not normally angry people, but at this point in the writing process, it felt necessary to blow off some steam with a new kind of sound we wanted to explore. We had the new Demi Lovato record on repeat on our way to this writing trip, and we knew we had to write a banger in that same vein. That's how we got "Seeing Red."

"Seeing Red" is a song that begs you to tap into your spiteful side and let it take control. So it was very cathartic to just get it out there, not sugarcoat it, and let the song be what we wanted it to be. 

Beauty in the Fall

This song is the perfect comedown to follow "Seeing Red." Spooky, dreamy, and as existential as it gets, this track is the first instance of making peace with anxiety, depression, and general fear. It concludes by saying, "If I'm doing this, I'm consenting to giving myself entirely to it" - the price you pay for entertaining. 

Some of the biggest sonic influences for this song were My Iron Lung by Radiohead, Charlie Puth, and 5 Seconds of Summer. 

Nerd Fact? The verses are in different keys from the choruses! 

Checking In

After making peace with anxiety, frustration, and sadness on the previous tracks, this song is the moment where you realize that maybe my friends and family were what you needed all along and that even after becoming estranged from loved ones, it's necessary to stay in touch and keep those important people in your life. 

"Checking In" serves as a heartfelt but painfully real reminder that keeping in touch with loved ones while balancing the many facets of life is difficult and necessary.

The song started with the verse guitar riff and upbeat post-chorus melody. This song was a dance moment while writing. We'd turn it on even before we had any lyrics and dance around the house.

Some influences were Post Malone, The Flamin' Groovies, and White Reaper.

Head In The Clouds

This is the first instance of us giving ourselves a hug and saying, "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself; you have everything you need to be who you want to be." We realize we don't need to sacrifice well-being for success. Sometimes a little over-positive verbal manifestation can be what you need to change your mindset on what's happening around you. 

"Head in the Clouds" is really the first "happy" Arrows in Action song, and it was such a breath of fresh air for us to write and finish. We wrote this song with Graham Laderman and Alex Pearson (Hands Like Houses) in Graham's apartment in LA in a very low-pressure environment, which came from that. 

Built To Last

This one closes the record without fully answering the question posed in the first track. More so just listing regrets, admitting a desire to keep loved ones close, and making amends with the people I've pushed away. It finally focuses on the underlying problem of substance dependence that's been casting a shadow over the last few years. Trying in vain to blame genetics but realizing I've built myself up to this point by my own hand and that I can't blame my father for what I've chosen to become. 

It refers to the questions posed at the beginning of the record "What was I made for if I wasn't made for this?" by admitting to regrets and promises broken and resigning myself to that belief that regardless of how good the work is, how hard things get, or how successful we may end up, all we are is who we have. Those relationships are the ones I have to prioritize and, in some cases, make amends with real intent.

"Built to Last" was the track that set the theme for the album and helped finish the story that the record tells.