One of the worst things to happen to a band is having nearly half the group leave when you’re nearly finished recording your debut LP. 

That’s what happened to Fort Wayne post-hardcore band Faith in Nothing. 

While recording the album at guitarist Charlie Sandberg’s 07 Studios, along with frontman Austin Carter, bassist Ryan Wolfe, guitarist Bailey Evans, and drummer Dan Willig, Evans and Willig decided they were done. 

After replacing Willig with new sticks man Brett Lay, Faith in Nothing became a quartet. 

The debut album, When It’s Over, is the end of an era and the beginning of another, a decisive mix of thoughtful introspection, crushing guitars, and pop melodies slathered in indignation.

If you need a blurb telling you what the band is trying to do with their record, Sandberg has you covered. “When It’s Over is the story of one day waking up in a life you didn’t desire and figuring out how to will into existence the reality you want and need. The record seeks to clean up the messes one makes of their own mind in survival mode.”

When It’s Over is a musical self-help guide for manifesting the life you want as opposed to the life you’re stuck in. 

“New Habit” opens things in a fury of guitars, a menacing rhythm section and Carter adding melodic vocals over top to temper the urgent mood. “C.A.R.” keeps the heightened state going with post-hardcore and touches of early 2000s emo melodrama thrown in for good measure as Carter sings, “I am only human.”

“Waiting” is a different vibe altogether, bringing touches of late-era Title Fight in the quieter verses before things get noisy in the chorus. “Decay” has a moody, dreamy feel, like shoegaze meets a triple shot of Red Bull. 

Faith in Nothing end things with the propulsive, full-throttle “Daydreams and Nicotine.” They go out with a roar rather than a whisper.

When It’s Over is a representation of what Faith in Nothing was, and what they were is a tight and melodic rock band with hooks for days. What’s next? Just wait and see.