The Story So FarProper Dose

Clean cut with a fresh, refined take on their pop punk sound, Proper Dose by The Story So Far is inarguably their best release to date.

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With a heavier emphasis on punk, the album comes after a few quiet years in the bands timeline. Their 2015 self titled release reached unforeseen new heights, launching the band forward into the world of back to back touring with no end in sight. Proper Dose comes out of the bands absolute need to take time to reflect and recharge after the explosive, popular nature of that album before continuing on writing anything else.

Proper Dose is filled with all of the real pain from growing up, but keeps an optimistic light hearted feel, and at the end of listening you won’t be any less depressed but the world might seem just a little brighter.

This album is the embodiment of that quiet and calm period that comes after you realise just how out of your depth you are. It somehow deals with the tumultuous time of early adulthood where you live in a constant state of overwhelm, and desperately want life to slow down even for a second. The Story So Far have kept their signature sound but added a refined level of punk that didn’t feel anywhere near as present in their previous bodies of works.

With some lighter more indie rock influenced tracks like Line, the five-piece enters uncharted territory but manages to keep some form of constant through the ups and downs of the album. Whether it’s the continual cathartic nature of each song, or the positive undertones of the notes, the album is a cohesive masterpiece of what it’s like to be young in 2018.

Propose Dose is filled with all of the real pain from growing up, but keeps an optimistic light hearted feel, and at the end of listening you won’t be any less depressed but the world might seem just a little brighter. It’s out for release today, 21 September, through Pure Noise Records. Pick it up, and get your ears around it, and let your heart grow fond to the ebb and flow of the stresses of life.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Proper Dose, Upside Down, Line
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