| "PMA" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by All Time Low featuring Pale Waves | ||||
| Released | July 30, 2021 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:12 | |||
| Label | Fueled by Ramen | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Zakk Cervini [1] | |||
| All Time Low singles chronology | ||||
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"PMA" (standing for Post-Modern Anxiety) is a song by the American rock band All Time Low featuring Heather Baron-Gracie from the British band Pale Waves.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the members of All Time Low returned to the mansion in Palm Desert, California, where they had recorded their last studio album, Wake Up, Sunshine (2020). Because the band was unable to tour, they decided to work on new music since, as Alex Gaskarth explained to Rock Sound , it was "one of the only things [they] had much control over". [2] "PMA" was written at this time and lyrically inspired by the "mental and emotional fatigue that we all went through as a society", according to Gaskarth. [2] In the aforementioned Rock Sound interview, Gaskarth explained: "It was really about ... connecting with that shared experience of loneliness and trauma, and somehow being OK with it, because we have to be." [2] Gaskarth later expanded on these sentiments during an interview with Kerrang! :
"PMA" kind of stemmed from lockdown—the song is about loneliness and isolation, and the realisation that this was a shared experience. There was something wholly unique about the fact that we were all collectively lonely as hell for a while there, and "PMA" talks about almost finding hope in the fact that we were all in it together. A very heavy sense of doom and gloom was lingering, but so too was there an overwhelming feeling that we were experiencing this as one. Ultimately, we’re all going through this together, and it’s kind of an opportunity to learn and grow. "PMA" is about that dichotomy, and finding the in between in all this. [3]
When the band had finished writing "PMA", they realized "it would be better served as a duet ... because about this feeling of togetherness". [2] Gaskarth decided to reach out to Heather Baron-Gracie of the English band Pale Waves, as he had always been a fan of her band's work. In an interview with NME , Baron-Gracie explained: "I was in Nashville and you were in LA. We spoke about our love for music and then [Alex] sent me the track and it said 'Post Modern Anxiety rough'. I was like 'How is this rough? – It already sounds so amazing!'" [4] Because everyone involved was vaccinated, Baron-Gracie was able to record her parts alongside All Time Low in the studio, which, as Gaskarth noted, was "the first time since the pandemic started that [he] got to get in the room with an artist from another band and work on something." [4]
Josh Carter of Alternative Press called "PMA" an "exposé of emotional transparency in the wake of COVID-19" and "the perfect conclusion after a year-and-a-half of uncertainty." [1] Tamara May of Wall of Sound wrote that the song was "cathartic and catchy", "act[ing] as that self-reassurance you’ve been searching for". [5]
Digital download and streaming
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Downloads (OCC) [6] | 77 |
| US Alternative Digital Song Sales [7] | 22 |
All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band took its name from lyrics in the song "Head on Collision" by New Found Glory. The band has consistently done year-long tours, headlined numerous tours, and has appeared at music festivals including Warped Tour, Reading and Leeds, and Soundwave.
Nothing Personal is the third studio album by American rock band All Time Low. As early as May 2008, the band began writing for their third album, and by November revealed they would be recording in the winter. The band began pre-production in early January 2009 and started recording later in the month, which lasted until March. Half of the album's songs were produced by Matt Squire with Butch Walker, David Bendeth and S*A*M and Sluggo each producing a few songs. Tom Lord-Alge mixed the majority of the album. "Weightless" was made available for streaming in March, and released as a single in April. A support slot for Fall Out Boy and an appearance at the Bamboozle festival followed.
Dirty Work is the fourth studio album by American rock band All Time Low. Following the success of Nothing Personal, the band signed to major label Interscope Records in late 2009. After spending sometime writing material in Los Angeles, the band started recording with Mike Green in March 2010. Over the following months the band recorded songs with John Fields, Butch Walker, Matt Squire, David Kahne and U4L. In between sessions, the band embarked on the Bamboozle Roadshow tour. Neal Avron mixed the majority of the album's recordings while Green, Mark Trombino and Chris Lord-Alge each mixed a song. Vocalist/guitarist Alex Gaskarth co-wrote the album's songs with a variety of people, including those who produced a few of the songs. While recording, the album was planned for release in 2010. It was delayed to January 2011, and then to spring. Further recording sessions then took place in November 2010, as well as in January 2011.
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