When I first saw the track listing for The Story So Far’s self-titled third LP, I was excited.
I was thinking that lead vocalist Parker Cannon might being showing more emotions than being heartbroken. I was wrong.
This is a sad record if you listen to the lyrics.
Cannon has gone through another tough breakup or he has been writing about the same one for the past six years. (I don’t know him personally so I cannot know which.)
Despite the sad undertone, the tracks include songs titled “Heavy Gloom,” “Distaste” and “Scowl.”
This album packs an upbeat punch that you can really rock out to.
Cannon announces on the opening track “Smile” that “I know it’s been a while, but I will not fake this stupid smile.” Cannon’s raw emotion shows through on the first track and never stops.
He continues his anger on the second track, “Heavy Gloom,” a song about seeing his ex post-breakup.
The energy on this album does not turn down until the eighth track, “Phantom,” an ode to the feeling of a lover still being in the places that they used to share together.
The pace ] picks up on the final two songs, “Scowl” and “Stalemate.”
Cannon uses a lot of good analogies and prose on this album to make the lyrics stick.
On the track “Solo,” Cannon says, “That feeling stuck that I offered trust and it left me solo.” The rhyme scheme that cannon uses previously in the song and the inflection he uses on the word “solo” makes it sound like he is saying “so low.”
Cannon does it again on the album’s single “Nerve.”
“I can’t pass through Indio, without feeling indigo,” he sings. He is referencing Indio, California, in the southern part of his home state.
The main issues I have with this album are that as great as the lyrics are, Cannon at points sounds like he needs to “get over it.” As a fan of the band, I am tiring of the heartbreak theme.
The second issue is that from start to finish the album sounds the same. At points, it’s very hard to tell one song from the next. Very few tracks stand out.
Despite its flaws, “The Story So Far” is a high-energy, emotion-evoking record that you can tap your feet to and relate to the message.
The energy is so high that you may find yourself angrily pointing and screaming the words in your car.
Despite sounding pedestrian at points, this record is good from start to finish and because of that I give it four of five stars and the number five spot on my top five albums of the year.
