What's that I hear? A violin? On a rock track? It's not often you see a
violin in rock music. For that alone,
Nottingham's Story One should be praised. Frontman Tom Evans not only sings,
but he plays the violin too. In fact, it is Evans' violin that gives Out Of
Season the esoteric edge it needs and makes the song more compelling than
most within this genre.
The vocals are powerful, with Evans going from a woozy mumble to a
soaring, violent roar. Musically, the band accredit themselves with power
chords aplenty, as one would expect from a band whose producer has served
time with the Foo Fighters and Biffy Clyro. The closest
comparison one can make is with the post-Richey Manic Street
Preachers, for both bands share a love of dramatic (if obvious)
melodies. However, unlike the Manics, Story One are hampered by the lack of
a distinctive chorus, which makes Out Of Season rather less memorable. We
shouldn't write this off completely, however, as there are some engaging
moments that show a band of promise - even if this is hardly the most
remarkable track in the band's current repertoire.
There is an absence of fun in this band and it seems at times that they
take themselves far too seriously, too studied in their intensity and
wouldn't be a whole lot of fun to be around. But then these serious rock
types never are, are they?
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