Proper Dose Album Review
Josh Caron
Proper Dose
The Story So Far
Label: Pure Noise Records
September 21, 2018
The Story So Far has been a constant staple in the post-Blink-182 pop punk scene. Ever since the release of their first EP, While You Were Sleeping, the band has cornered the market of fast paced, angst-filled, breakup songs. The lead singer, Parker Cannon, has shown the ability to resonate with fans since their first studio album Under Soil and Dirt. The Story So Far plays with a style that emphasizes the emotional elements of the lyrics. The band was able to ride this wave of emotion to a peak in 2013 with their sophomore album What You Don’t See. The Story So Far gained more popularity, and found themselves on the mainstage of the Vans Warped Tour, and packed every club show with fans as finger pointing and crowd surfing ran rampant. Their third release was a self-titled album, again, centered around a painful breakup. The Story So Far was becoming redundant with every song sounding the same, so they needed a change of style and subject matter in their fourth album. An extremely long gap between the The Story So Far and Proper Dose had fans worried that maybe the band had moved on from making music. However, the release of the single “Out of It” in 2017 proved they were working on new material.
Proper Dose takes on a completely new focus from the teenage and early adult material of the older albums of these Walnut Creek natives. They open the album with the same pace fans have grown to love with the song “Proper Dose.” Parker Cannon sings a ballad on the effects of touring and his struggles with drugs. The conclusion of the chorus sets the tone for the subject matter when he says “Barely focused anymore the haze is all that I can see/red bottle, white cap” and “Slime in my stomach slowly turning/ staring at the grout in the tile/ dry is my heave and my head is burning/ think I’ll be in here a while, I’m gone.” He directly addresses his struggle with drug addictions in this storyline and his desire to change. The songs that compliment this theme in the album include “Keep This Up”, “Out of It”, “If I Fall”, and “Need to Know.”
The second grouping of songs addresses how the band is not still upset about the same things like a rough break up. In “Upside Down”, they make it clear through the catchy phrase “It’s all love now, upside down.” The repetition of this line through the song communicates that although The Story So Far has a history of writing about break ups, they can still resonate with fans on more mature levels with other subjects. If you are searching for a slower pace, then you may enjoy “Let it Go,” “Take Me as You Please” and “Growing on You.”
The only song that I did not particularly enjoy and felt out of place was “Line.” This song seems like a filler and it would not be played live.
Finally, Parker so eloquently ties both ideas in the concluding song “Light Year.” The band returns to their staple of a faster pace and the pre-chorus will send chills down your spine. “I’m stepping outside now/ I’ll leave you behind now/ I finally came down/ I’m ready to let it all out.” These lyrics are specifically poignant because they reference a liberation from a common vice.
The Story So Far had an extended gap between albums, but they exceeded expectations. If you like this album, you can see them play it on their Fall 2018 US Tour alongside Citizen, Movements, and Turnover.
Track list:
- Proper Dose
- Keep This Up
- Out of It
- Take Me as You Please
- Let It Go
- Upside Down
- If I Fall
- Need to Know
- Line
- Growing on You
- Light Year
Recommended if you like: Basement, Turnstile, or The Wonder Years.
Album Highlights: “Proper Dose,” “Keep This Up,” and “If I Fall”