It's Not A Phase · It's Not A Phase Podcast

EP #194 - Charlie Rolfe (As Everything Unfolds)

April 15, 2026·1 hr 1 min·4 clips

Charlie links the record to maladaptive daydreaming, trauma, and Blade Runner-style “big questions.”

1. It's Not A Phase episode #194 centers on As Everything Unfolds vocalist Charlie Rolfe and the band's third album, Did You Ask To Be Set Free. 2. Host Zach Redrup and guest Charlie Rolfe discuss the record, with Charlie speaking as the vocalist and one of the band's core songwriters. 3. The episode asks what the album title means and how the band approached a third record without repeating the first two. 4. Charlie says the debut album felt different because nobody knew what to expect, while the second record raised the question of whether the band could “up the first one.” 5. Charlie says the new album was made with a more inward focus, rather than comparing tracks to older songs or pairing them as “sister songs.” 6. Charlie names “Set in Flow,” “Cut the Lies,” and “Reverie” as songs that move away from conventional structure. 7. Charlie says “Set in Flow” does not really have a chorus and instead uses an EDM-inspired drop as the hook. 8. Charlie says the band moved from Long Branch to Century Media Records after a contract ended naturally and the team at Century Media felt strongly engaged with new UK bands. 9. Charlie says the group also changed management, and the transition stayed friendly with no bad blood. 10. Charlie explains that the title Did You Ask To Be Set Free came from lyrics after a long search for an album name, then shortened from “as I asked” to “did you ask” because it flowed better. 11. Charlie describes maladaptive daydreaming as a way the brain creates safe worlds during trauma, and uses that idea as the album's emotional core. 12. Charlie says he blended that personal idea with Blade Runner, the Voight-Kampff interview, and questions about what makes a human human. 13. Charlie says the music videos are designed like visualizers of him watching himself inside those imagined worlds. 14. Charlie says album tracks can be heard through his experience or through a listener's own life, which he sees as part of the record's appeal. 15. Charlie says songs gain new meanings live, using “Hiding for Myself” as an example of a serious song that fans turn into a shared moment. 16. Charlie says “Gasoline” was not yet played live, and he is waiting to see how it lands at Download. 17. The conversation is informal, reflective, and full of back-and-forth jokes about My Chemical Romance, album flow, and songwriting choices. 18. Charlie speaks in a candid interview style, often stopping to rethink phrasing, defend choices, or laugh at how the record came together. 19. Listeners who like metalcore songwriting, album craft, and band evolution. 20. Skip it if you want short answers and little discussion of creative process.

As heard by us

A focused band conversation about growth, process, and the odd path from idea to song.

Charlie Rolfe talks through As Everything Unfolds' third album with a clear focus on what the band kept from the first two records and where the new electronic texture opens things up.

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Why you'd press play

Want the story behind As Everything Unfolds' third album and how it grew out of the first two?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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