Arise, Sir!

Arise Sir! doesn’t rely on a single sound to get his anthemic energy out into the world. Founded in the wake of A Healthy Alternative for Better Living, Columbus, Indiana’s Alex Kessler (he/him) began Arise, Sir! as a means to explore rock sounds outside of the emo genre. Similar to predecessors like Say Anything who scribble outside of the pop punk lines, Arise, Sir! challenges the need for categorization, and in a scene that thrives on energy Arise, Sir! delivers in droves. 

His debut EP “Something About This Needs to Be Changed”, incorporated elements of post-punk, emo, indie, and heavy pop and solidified the direction Kessler is taking the band. In the ensuing years since its release, Kessler has worked to further concretize his sound through projects with pointed goals. In October of 2020 Arise, Sir! released “Obviously Icarus” a 3-track acoustic EP with the help of fellow DIY Indie-rocker Kicksie. The acoustic driven album settled into a poppier sound, invoking aspects of electronic music and upbeat rhythms and chord progressions. The album was also an exercise in creation, as he purposefully created the album in an off-the-cuff manner that wasn’t focused on perfection while he continued to work on his latest offering “It Could Be So Simple”. Released March of 2021 “It Could Be So Simple” is Arise, Sir! full actualized with Kessler’s most mainstream and accessible effort yet.

“This project was probably the toughest to make out of the few I’ve done in my life, but also came together the easiest. No doubt the ease had much to do with the fact that I was working with Casey Cavaliere from The Wonder Years. Surprisingly, working through the music over the internet in the middle of the pandemic wasn’t that difficult.“

Knowing he wanted “Simple” to be pop punk a la The Story So Far, old-school Fall Out Boy, and Blink 182’s “Neighborhoods”, Kessler tapped The Wonder Years guitarist Casey Cavaliere to produce the album and perfect pop punk sound.  Arise, Sir! continues to release music with the “post-genre” label Lonely Ghost Records, and the rest of 2021 is full of high hopes for just how far and wide his music will reach.

“With Casey Cavaliere as his ally, Kessler is headed into some exciting territory with Arise, Sir!, as he continues to expand his musical horizons.”

V13

“This is stadium level rock power with underground spirit.”

IDIOTEQ