Dashing guitars, thriving drums and gruff belting: When The Story So Far’s first album Under Soil and Dirt was released in 2011, critics were blown away by the newcomer’s crisp approach to a genre that for a while seemed to draw more from pop than punk. The three records that followed stayed consistent in style – one that can be experienced live this Autumn during their five concerts in Germany.
Heading from Walnut Creek, California, the quintet formed in 2007. The same year, they released their first EP, simply called 5 Songs. In 2010, Californian punk rock label Pure Noise Records, known for working with acts such as Four Year Strong or Man Overboard, took the band under its wings. To this day, they stayed true to their debut’s sound, their pop punk always veering on the edge of melodic hardcore. Catchy guitar riffs form a contrast to the fast-paced speed of their tracks. Vocalist Parker Cannon grabs the listener by the shoulders and yells out the struggles he has experienced in his relationships – but unlike some of his contemporaries, his lyrics never drift off into cheesiness, instead stay introspective, if at times minimalist.
The 2013 release What You Don’t See and the 2015 self-titled don’t try their hand at a new formula; they refine what brought the band so much critical acclaim in the past, knitting a tighter experience, keeping the way for change blocked in its wake.
That is, until their most recent LP, Proper Dose.
Intimate details that had been hinted at in past songs are now getting basked in light as Cannon shares his very personal struggles with addiction and the uncertainties of life. No relatability is lost as, in addition to a past love, his family and his bandmates take the main role in the lyrics. Self-reflective, vulnerable ballads, scarcely to be found in their discography, weave their way into the repertoire of songs.
Following their performance on the main stage of the Vans Warped Tour in 2014, their last concerts in Germany saw The Story So Far as a guest on rock festivals such as Open Flair and Taubertal in 2015. With their new, diversified record hitting, there could hardly be a better time to catch a dose of it live: So don’t miss your chance when they’re coming to Bi Nuu on September 28th, supported by chunky, genre-bending emo band Citizen, and indie-punk act All Get Out.
Win tickets to the show by writing to win (at) indieberlin.de!
Win tickets! Pure, honest pop punk: The Story So Far coming to Bi Nuu
