Whenever, If Ever

Whenever, If Ever is the debut studio album by American indie rock band The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, released on June 18, 2013, on Topshelf Records.

Writing and recording
The record was largely written instrumentally as a five-piece band, with the finished versions of the tracks coming together in the studio with the rest of the members contributing their ideas. The album's songs had been written close to a year before the band entered the studio, and the band made demos for all the songs in every stage of the writing process. Nicole noted that many of the songs progressed into something completely different than the direction they started with, while others stayed relatively unchanged. After production had started, Julia Peters offered to perform cello on the record. The band was so impressed with her playing that she was asked to join the band.

Music
Four vocalists share vocal duties throughout the album.

Lyrics
""I think the idea of being self-referential helps connect our entire work into a more cohesive piece about the collective experience of being alive. That is the sort of general idea about the lyrical aspect of our songwriting.""

Legacy
Whenever, If Ever is held in high esteem within emo music, especially in its fourth wave, where it's regarded as one of its "most crucial documents". On Spin's 2017 list, it placed #2 out of the emo revival's 30 best albums, only behind Home, Like Noplace Is There by The Hotelier. Writer Briana Younger dubbed it "a masterful journey through the dark" from "a band that believes profoundly in the light at the end of the tunnel". She praised the "remarkable conviction" that they portrayed "effective idealistic angst" with, which "is a rare achievement for past and revival bands alike".

Personnel

 * Thomas Diaz – vocals, guitar, synthesizer
 * David Bello – vocals
 * Nicole Shanholtzer – guitar, vocals
 * Joshua Cyr – bass guitar, synthesizer
 * Katie Shanholtzer-Dvorak - synthesizer, vocals
 * Steven Buttery – percussion
 * Christopher Teti – guitar
 * Julia Peters – cello
 * Patrick Malone – trumpet
 * Greg Horbal – guitar, vocals, piano, synthesizer