Story One - 'The Shadow Line' (Shy) Released 17/09/07

Nottingham's Story One release ‘The Shadow Line’ amidst a plethora of excitable reviews and hype from both sides of the Atlantic. A highly anticipated album that will surely see the band arouse some interest in those looking for smart, well thought out music and highly skilled musicianship, yes, but for those looking for something with edge and memorable tunes, you might want to approach with caution. With a soft rock band such as Story One, it can be very easy to dismiss them as just another pop group to add to the shelf of late 90’s rip offs, yet something is constantly stopping them from such a fate. Maybe it’s down to frontman Tom Evans’ husky and disarming voice that is inescapably addictive, especially on the likes of ‘Prism’ that kicks the shit out of anything Embrace have ever done, or the beautifully shaped violin solos wrapping themselves like sonic vines around tunes like ‘Russian Dolls’ , but there is a definite appeal to this band, whether or not their sound borders inoffensive mothers day present music.

With a sound not unlike Doves or Kashmir without the branching out into experimental or haunting avenues, ‘The Shadow Line’ constantly hints at a band capable of creating better music than what they have recorded here. With a keen ear for creating good songs Story One are yet to harness their more epic side, constantly understating their abilities or holding back the big explorations or huge chorus lines that songs like ‘Rescue Us’ and ‘Trebuchet’ so sorely need. Armed with a piano, guitar, drums, bass and a violin, there are enough ingredients to make a melting pot of hits, especially when all members are clearly talented; yet opting for friendly forgetful pop tunes seems to be their direction of choice for this record, however unfortunate that may be.

All is not lost if you get past these little discrepancies, as there are some nice tracks contained within, such as ‘Uncharted’ that is a nice little guitar driven rock song that gets things moving a little more, the beautifully crafted piano ballad ‘Sleep It Off’ that sees a sinister violin dive bombing in and out of earshot reminiscent of early Elbow or Coldplay and the song Paolo Nutini wishes he wrote in the shape of ‘Done & Dusted’ that once again gives a nod to the great songwriting capabilities of this band – a sure fire hit.

An album that showcases a clearly talented band that is surely destined for great things, if they are able to harness the more haunting and free side they brandish on countless occasions that is.