The Story So Far

I don't know if it's that time of year, or we're just having a very inspirational year for musicians, or the planets have aligned or something, but there seem to be a lot of new bands cropping up all over the place. One of these, one that seems to have been getting a fair bit of attention in the internet circles I move in, is The Story So Far. With a fair few EPs and two full-length albums under their belt, the Californian five-piece have been around since 2007 (Ok, so more 'newly popular' than just 'new', or maybe just 'newly popular in my narrow social circles'), but it's only the past year or so that I can recall hearing their name out and about. Considering that there are some people out there who will go for any band with angsty lyrics - which I do like - regardless of if they're delivered in a nice-sounding, memorable way - which is really what makes a good band - I was a little apprehensive about trying these guys out.

The moment I pressed play on their 2010 While You Were Sleeping EP, I knew I needed them on my iPod. It's not just 'nice' music that I could listen to occasionally, it's great music that has a sort of uniqueness to it that you need to be a successful band. They have a similar 'we're playing this in a garage' feel that you get on some early Green Day/Blink 182 records, but they don't sound like copies. They understand how pop punk works, and they're doing it well but in their own way, whether it's in Spark Fires, which makes me want to learn to drum again, or Small Talk - off their newest album What You Don't See - which I will probably try and fail to learn to sing along to.

It's fast, and it's kind of angry, but in a more rebellious than depressing way that keeps it on the pop side of pop punk. In every song there's this youthful energy that makes me so glad I've discovered them in summer. It's not so much that I highly recommend listening to them - it's more that, if you don't, you're a fucking idiot. As confirmation of that, I leave you with the video for their song, Empty Space: