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‘The Stories We Tell Ourselves’ to be released September 15th via Better Noise Records
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Nothing More’s latest album ‘The Stories We Tell Ourselves’ is a ferocious, heartfelt, balance of darkness, despair, and hope laid out rhythmically and vocally from start to finish. Simply put… it’s brilliant.
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The album comes across very conceptual with intros, vocal overlays, tones, and song structure that take you on a journey without ever knowing where it will take you next. I haven’t heard a full album patterned this well since Queenryche’s album ‘Operation: Mindcrime. Vocalist Jonny Hawkins seems to have truly written lyrics that are thought provoking from personal experiences that leave him emotionally open to the world showing that everyone goes to dark places at times no matter who you are. Guitarist Mark Vollelunga pushes his guitar work to challenging tempos that will be great to see him perform live. Kudos to bassist Daniel Oliver and drummer Ben Anderson who part of the musicianship that takes us on this journey.
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This is an album to enjoy as a whole but there are tracks that also will work incredibly well like “Do You Really Want To” with its anthem style of tone with the chorus “Everybody wants to change the world, but one thing’s clear, no one ever wants to change themselves, that’s the way things are”.
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“Let ‘em Burn” is a track that makes you want to release your energy, aggression, and just throw caution out the door and let your body move to the tempo wherever it takes it. Another standout track is “Ripping Me Apart” that from a relationship point shares the turmoil of a bad relationship.
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“Don’t Stop” has more of an industrial feel which works really will with its softer verses and it’s pounding chorus. It is such a cool track. “Still in Love” made me instantly think of XTC’s 1979 hit “Making Plans for Nigel” with its rhythmic tone (last time I make any outside music comparisons). There are so many layers to this song that it will do really well as a single.
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“Go To War” will please the longtime fans of the band as well as create new ones. To me it’s closer to previous ventures but still pushes the envelope. The last lyric to the song is “do you feel safe”. One thing the album ‘The Stories We Tell Ourselves’ does not do is play it safe.
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“Just Say When” strips down the music to Jonny’s vocals and Mark’s acoustic guitar for most of the track. As it progresses there is an orchestration of strings added subtly in the background allowing you to focus on the storyline of Jonny’s lyrics. The song is raw and poetic and must become part of their live set.
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I do not need to go through each track this time because this album is a journey that should be taken by everyone to draw their own conclusions. To me, I stand by my earlier statement that this album is brilliant. The best thing to say is “BUY THIS ALBUM”! You won’t be disappointed.
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