So, it’s hard to imagine that through my love of pop punk (Belmont, Neck Deep, New Found Glory, Knuckle Puck, State Champs…the Wonder Years… ), The Story So Far was a band that has primarily been an unknown to me… but no longer…
From some research this AM, their Under Soil and Dirt album is still considered one of the gold standard’s in the industry – Quicksand is probably their most perfectly constructed track: that intro riff, the way the pre-chorus builds, Cannon’s delivery on “what you see is what you get” – it’s textbook pop punk excellence without feeling formulaic.
The nice thinking about TSSF is that they are AGGRESSIVELY good at being exactly what pop punk is supposed to be. No gimmicks, no genre-blending for the sake of evolution, no acoustic detours to prove they have “range.” Just Parker Cannon’s snarl, those chunky palm-muted power chords, and lyrics that oscillate between heartbreak and telling someone to fuck off (sometimes in the same verse).
Leave a Comment