The Story Changes – Never In A Daydream

Somewhere over the past five years, Ohio two-piece The Story Changes morphed from a hook heavy pop-rock outfit into an alternative centered rock troupe.  The band went from garnering promising comparisons with Motion City Soundtrack to taking inspiration from the likes of Alter Bridge.  Good news for fans of Alter Bridge, but not so much for those of us that tend to distance ourselves from the realm of 90’s inspired radio rock.  By and large, the decision taints the duo’s latest four-track EP, Never In A Daydream.

Opener “Politics Behind It” has all the markings of a really sluggish, mid-tempo Goo Goo Dolls track (and not that affectionate type that Beach Slang calls upon).  Armed with generic, heavy riffs that falter back and forth between chorus and verse, tracks like “Silver Lining” exude a misguided late 90’s feeling, tragically aligning with various washed up grunge imitators.  Perhaps most cringeworthy of the bunch, “North Carolina” sounds like a rewrite of Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be.”  While the ballad-esque chorus might have made some headway on the top 40’s fifteen years ago, the track   Make no mistake about it, The Story Changes puts their best foot forward within their self imposed limitations, but for a band capable of impressionable pop-rock goodness, Never In A Daydream is a significant regression.  

Only “Shedding Skin” somewhat frames the band in the catchy, upbeat light that they have become known for, but it isn’t enough to salvage the disc.  On the whole, Never In A Daydream marks a really generic turn along The Story Change’s path.  As someone that hasn’t kept up with the band since their Analogies split with Let Go, Never In A Daydream is a bit shocking.  Perhaps those that have kept up with The Story Changes would expect to find the band this way, but otherwise it feels like a case of wasted potential.