The Story So Far’s début album ‘Under Soil And Dirt’ came at a time when bands such as The Wonder Years and Fireworks were shifting the focus of pop-punk away from the stereotypical three-chord sugary sweet sound and towards something more thoughtful and creative. It was a release that helped re-invigorate the scene and marked them out as ones to watch.
Fast forward a few years, and now well-established as one of the genre’s front runners, The Story So Far are faced with a familiar choice. Do they play it safe and attempt to repeat the past glories of previous releases or do they throw caution to the wind and try something different? The off-kilter drum intro of ‘Smile’ hints at a degree of experimentation that may come but the rest of the song fails to capitalise on this promise and it’s an underwhelming start to proceedings.
Thankfully, ‘Heavy Gloom’ is an immediate improvement as it transfers the energy that The Story So Far often show in a live setting into a melodic and crunching series of riffs that makes good use of Parker Cannon’s distinctive vocals. Unfortunately, this uneven pattern continues throughout the album as it swings from exciting melodic punk to unimaginative filler and back again. ‘Distaste’ is firmly in the filler category as it lacks any major hook and just drifts by without leaving a lasting impression.
On the flip-side, there are tracks such as ‘Solo’ and ‘How You Are’, both of which are brimming with the talent that made The Story So Far such an exciting prospect when they first started to turn heads. ‘Solo’ shows a turn of pace that is lacking for large parts of the album and ‘How You Are’ is one of the best songs on the record. Slick yet unpolished, it’s energetic and engaging in a way that tracks such as ‘Mock’ and ‘Nerve’ simply aren’t.
However, where The Story So Far absolutely pull it out of the bag is with the outstanding ‘Phantom’. Waves of feedback and softly sung vocal harmonies give the slow, semi-acoustic track a fittingly haunting feel, and it’s a brave yet brief departure from the songs around it. Overall, ‘The Story So Far’ is frustrating, for every moment of brilliance there’s one of un-originality and it’s hard to escape the feeling that The Story So Far have tried too hard to make the album expected of them rather than what they know they’re capable of.
CHRIS HILSON