The Story So Far

In 2011 The Story So Far burst onto the pop-punk scene with debut album ‘Under Soil and Dirt‘, 2 years later and the band is back again with album number two. Is ‘What You Don’t See‘ a sophomore slump though, or is it to be one of the comeback album’s of the year?

Parker Cannon’s passionate vocal approach was one of the things that impressed people so much about ‘Under Soil and Dirt‘, he had a huge amount of fire in his belly and with every vocal line he belted out you really felt he believed 100% in what he was singing about. With ‘What You Don’t See‘ the vocals are absolutely incredible again; Parker Cannon continues where he left off with album number one, and I really don’t have a bad thing to say whatsoever about his voice. Combine that with some very impressive musicianship and you have an incredibly solid studio album again here. The Story So Far is a band that definitely seems to have matured with studio album number two, and in my book this is definitely not a bad thing. The band’s first album was great and all, bit with ‘What You Don’t See‘ they just seem to really take things to a whole new level, building upon what they brought to the table last time and really refining their pop-punk sound whilst maturing as musicians at the same time.

The album’s opening track ‘Things I Can’t Change‘ eases you in pretty gently here; upon first listening to the album I was a bit worried with this opening that the album wouldn’t meet my admittedly high expectations after the standard that was set with ‘Under Soil and Dirt‘, the track has certainly grown on me with repeated listens however, and although it’s by no means one of the best tracks on the album, it’s still a pretty decent track from The Story So Far. As the swirling guitar riffs and powerful vocals hit you with track number two, ‘Stifled‘, you know that the band has begun to up its game, preparing you for a very impressive pack of pop-punk songs. As I said before, opening track ‘Things I Can’t Change‘ is a definite grower rather than an instant classic, and this is in fact something that’s true of the album as a whole. It takes a few listens to really ‘get’ the brilliance of this album, a pattern which has been true of some of my favourite pop-punk albums of all time. It’s a slow burner, but it’s well worth the breaking in period for the brilliance of the album that you come to know and love by the end of the experience.

It’s with third track ‘Small Talk‘ that the album really begins to explode, a track so beautifully catchy that it’ll no doubt have you hooked for a long time to come. ‘Small Talk‘ is an absolute belter of a pop-punk anthem; instrumentally hard hitting, lyrically brilliant, and, as ever, absolutely vocally outstanding. Right from the start of the track you know that this one is going to be something rather special, and it’s certainly not one to disappoint. The bass tone is absolutely phenomenal as always here, the song is incredibly well structured, and everything about the track just seems to really fit together absolutely perfectly.

‘Empty Space‘ is another absolutely pounder of a pop-punk track from this album, and in places it reminds me a little of ‘Deja Entendu‘ era Brand New, a comparison definitely to be proud of as that’s one of my very favourite albums. Again the track has absolutely superb structure, and it’s another track that I can definitely see myself coming back to a lot over the coming months and years. It’s hard hitting, catchy, and it’s just everything you could possibly want for in a pop-punk release; punchy, yet absolutely hits the spot with enough pop power about it to really get stuck in your head.

There’s not really a single bad track present on this album, there are of course some tracks that are better than others, the same as you’ll discover with any studio album, but not a single one of these 11 tracks is at all bad; they all have their merits, and all combine nicely to form the ‘What You Don’t See‘ studio album as a whole. ‘Framework‘ provides a powerfully uplifting and fitting sendoff for the album, and in listening to this album you really feel like you’ve experienced something truly special. The musicianship on display with this final track, and in fact throughout the entire album is absolutely sublime; the song’s are so well crafted that listening to this album is at all times an absolute pleasure. As I keep coming back to, Parker Cannon’s vocal tone is just something else on this record, he’s probably one of the finest vocalists in pop-punk right now, a true vocal star of the genre with a talent that young fans of the band can most definitely aspire to.

There are few pop-punk releases this year that will come with as much hype as The Story So Far’s ‘What You Don’t See‘, the young band certainly don’t crumble under the pressure of expectation here though, and do in fact seem to thrive under it as they come up with a second absolutely incredible studio release. If you were a fan of ‘Under Soil and Dirt‘ then I definitely recommend investing in ‘What You Don’t See‘ as the band once again have a huge amount to offer here, or if you’re a pop-punk fan and yet to really listen to The Story So Far then definitely take the time to do so now as you’re really missing out on something seriously special.

Rating
[Rating:4/5]