Straylight
Run - Straylight Run
Label: Victory
Records
Rating:
Tracks: Perfect Ending, The
Tension And The Terror, The
Existentialism On Prom Night
Another Word For Desperate
Mistakes We Knew We Were Making
Dignity And Money
Your Name Here (Sunrise Highway)
Tool Sheds And Hot Tubs
It's For The Best
Now It's Done
Sympathy For The Martyr
Emo. By definition, simply stated, emotional
music. In recent years this genre has been tagged to everything from emotionally
charged punk rock, to sweet and soft piano charged ballads. Hoards of recent
bands have jumped on the Emo bandwagon either finding their true self in
the process or getting eaten up and classified as another one of those
"Whiney Bands". However, some emo bands do stand up and make a difference,
which is exactly where the Straylight Run is coming from.
Enter vocalist/guitarist John Nolan and
bassist Shaun Cooper, names which may sound very familiar to you. Both
fellows were members of Taking Back Sunday, both left the band in early
2003 due to personal and professional reasons; they proceeded to start
the Straylight Run in March of the same year. Add to that foundation former
Breaking Pangaea drummer Will Noon and Johns sister Michelle Nolan on
keyboards and vocals, you just about have an all-star cast, but one thing
is for sure kids, we definitely have all-star music here.
The debut self titled album from Straylight
Run (Victory) starts off on what has become a staple of a lot of emo and
indie music. SLOW and SOFT. The first track of the album is ironically
entitled "The Perfect Ending". A slow tempo piano based tune that really
sets the stage for the rest of the album covering layers of textures musically,
while John Nolans vocals strategically weave in and out of the piano.
ATTENTION ASPIRING EMO BANDS: The key here, is melody lines, catchy and
not overdone. What seems like a lost art in some music today, John Nolan
does so well and fills the album up with sing alongs and lyrics that youll
remember way past your 50th birthday. The pace picks up quickly on the
following two songs with some mid tempo rockers titled "The Tension And
The Terror", and "Existentialism On Prom Night"creating a strong start
to the album. This is where is starts getting great, the band is starting
to prove to me that portraits can be painted not only on canvas but in
the music studio as well. Add some great guitar effects on "The Tension
And The Terror" a long with the moody piano intro on "Existentialism On
Prom Night" and youll be seeing blue skies and starry nights on the most
rainiest of days.
Its apparent that the band has much more
to offer than memorable melody lines, when the pace picks up, the rest
of the band follows. Songs such as "Mistakes We Knew We Were Making" and
"Tool Sheds And Hotubs" find drummer Will Noon showcasing his tasteful
ability to add depth and a strong percussive backbone to the band. Michelle
Nolans piano playing and backing vocals are a few of the many highlights
of the album, once again, adding an element to the music that truly identifies
the band.
But wait, theres more, yes, thats right,
a lot more. "Another Word For Desperate" is reminiscent of a darker Chris
Colburn fronted Buffalo Tom song, "Dignity And Money" has all the elements
of greatly crafted pop rock hit. "Your Name Here (Sunrise Highway)" is
my vote for ballad of the year (No lighters please). A guitar solo in "Now
Its Done", is all but unheard of in this style of music, but John Nolan
pulls off Pink Floyd style riffs with the greatest of ease. Just when you
thought "there is no way this album is going to go off on a different path"
the Michelle Nolan fronted "Its For The Best" and "Tool Sheds And Hotubs"
will get you grab you, chew you up and spit you out. WOW, Im left feeling
like a child on Christmas Day, wondering what Ill discover next.
There is not one bad song on the album,
its one of those pieces that you can listen to from beginning to end and
come back for more giving you a different sense of emotion with each listen.
John Nolan and Shaun Cooper did their homework during the time they spent
with Taking Back Sunday and have recruited pieces to produce a strong album
and band to boot. As for me, I certainly do not "get a bad feeling about"
the Straylight Run.
Posted by Issa:
I saw them in concert when they were touring with Simple Plan. They are really good but the songs they played were a little too slow for me. I like more up-beat songs. But they were still a good band, don't get me wrong.
Posted by Christi:
I think the song extentionalism on prom night is the greatest song ever!
Posted by balck eye broken heart:
i love both taking back sunday & straylight run they both offer different styles of music. john nolan's voice is amazing even if its off-key but that is what makes it so great! the lyrics are also so amazing!
Posted by Konstantine:
actually emo deverts from Emotive Hardcore from the early 90s but now everyone has tunred it into the "emo = emotional" bull. i love "emo" both kinds, but if you call emo emotional then britany and christina and everyone that sings something wth emotion in there lyrics would be emo. emo is a word not a short form in my opinion, its good music and lets just leave it at that. no short form, its its own word its own style and one definition all on its own.
and i love straylightrun they are amazing. happy that taking back sunday lost John Nolan and Shaun Cooper because SLR is soooo much better then TBS... but thats just me!
Posted by Sir General Frugenkoff:
I thinkl straylight run is an awsome band..i first heard of them when i heard "existentialism on prom night" i thought they sounded familiar and its after that i heard that two of tbs band members made the band. well anywho i love both bands and cant wait to see which one dies down first..:S!
Posted by niki:
i love Straylight Run ( i've actually only heard extentionalism on prom night) but it was great. It takes alotta balls to leave a band like taking back sunday, but the guys did it and it turned out to be a great thing. Not to mention, the lead singer of E.O.P.N. i hott( or i think so)
Posted by Ashley:
Straylight Run is the GREATEST!!!
Posted by Tommy:
Screw Taking Back sunday. God. Straylight Run is so much better
Posted by nobody :
I think they are great musicians. Just not my taste. It's too bad john left Taking Back Sunday.. TBS is still the sh*t even without them.
Posted by La:
Yeah, Straylight can be draumatic... but so damn amazing...but yeah, theyre emo and so it just involves drama.
Posted by Katie:
I think Straylight Run is a great band and they made a great cd, but at some times I just sort of wanted to tell them to shut up with the drama, it gets old. I still like it though, they have amazing music and instrumental talent.
Posted by bnvhn:
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Posted by bnvhn:
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Posted by death by stereo:
they're a good band, but you hav 2 admit, tbs are still better(with or without John Nolan)
Posted by Stephenie:
I heard Existentialism on Prom Night the other day... and absolutely loved it!. Straylight run is most def. an awesome band!
Posted by Nihan:
I LOVE STRAYLIGHT RUN!
Posted by muisc:
I heard these guys the other day and they are awesome. When I was listening I thought it had a strange TBS feel to it. Then after I listened it found out two of the members were ex-TBS members. no duh! One of the best emo albums I've heard. (Next to Thrice - Artist in the ambulance) awesome review
Posted by Luke:
Great review, great band. Went the opposite direction of Taking Back Sunday (damn sellouts! haha), which is a good thing. Although I do like some of TBS's music, (mostly the first album and demos WITH John Nolan), I think Straylight Run is for real; a real band, making real music, not a fad band from the emo scene. You can tell that Nolan cares a lot more about the music than Adam Lazzara, who seems to just want to write cliche metaphorical emo lines. Truth be told, I like both bands, but Straylight Run takes the cake for sure.
