Straylight Run – Self Titled

Late in the summer of 2003, rumors started flying all over regarding Taking Back Sunday and its members. No one knows exactly what happened during those few months, other then the band members, but we did see two completely new bands come out of the conflict. The first was the newly constructed Taking Back Sunday. Minus John Nolan on guitar and vocals and Shawn Cooper on bass, they picked up two members of Breaking Pangea to round off the group. Then in the summer of 2004, Taking Back Sunday released their second album, Where You Want To Be, to varied results. Some fans and critics loved it, while others hated, but one thing they all agreed was that it was different. It wasn’t the same band, it was missing a certain kick that John and Shawn gave to it. That is where the second band from that conflicts comes in. John and Shawn took Will Noon of Breaking Pangea along with John’s sister Michelle and formed Straylight Run; the Taking Back Sunday “counter-part.” Now, before you get the idea that Straylight Run is Taking Back Sunday part 2, let me tell you that they aren’t. They are melodic, soft, piano-driven songs that have the ability to captivate your soul. There are no dulling vocals, no blood curling screams, no onslaught of guitar riffs, it is soft, melodic emo music. And is pretty damn good.

Now many of you were probably like me, and were obsessed with the demos that Straylight Run released last year. Songs like Existentialism On Prom Night, Mistakes We Knew We Were Making,It’s For The Best, and The Tension And The Terror were played constantly on my computer and got me really excited for this release. But listening to the demos and then to the CD, you can hear a distinct difference in between the two; and I’m sorry to say I liked the demos more. The vocals were more raw and more powerful in the demos. Songs like It’s For The Best and Existentialism On Prom Night, which were my two favorite of the demos, don’t stand out for me as much anymore. They just changed them a bit, but they are very vivid and obvious changes which aren’t as good as before. But then I listen to songs like The Tension And The Terror, of which I didn’t really like the demo. I absolutely love the album version for some reason. Then there are also the seven songs which weren’t released as demos, and most of those ones are spectacular. We actually get to hear Michelle’s voice on a couple tracks like Now It’s Done and Tool Sheds And Hot Tubs where she is the lead singer. John and Michelle also tend to share vocals more often on the album then on the demos.

Straylight Run‘s debut self-titled CD is a really good CD. Full of powerful, emotional, captivating songs, it is a debut CD to be proud of. There are a few songs here that really couldn’t be any better then they are already, that show the band’s true potential; and then there are a couple which could use a bit of a kick. Overall, a good CD which I highly recommend; and plus, the artwork is amazing.