Straylight Run is the product of what seems to be a divine work of meddling. Consisting of members of Taking Back Sunday--John Nolan and Shaun Cooper's departure from the band being a shocking event to TBS fans everywhere--as well as Will Noon of the rocking band Breaking Pangaea, Straylight Run is everything you hope for. While this super-band hybrid seems as though it'd be enough to rock your indie world, the group decided to throw a bit of the sibling-bandmate spice into the mix, with John Nolan's sister Michelle offering vocal and piano skills. I'll do my best to not spend the next eighteen paragraphs rambling on about how hot Michelle is; that would be unprofessional.
Straylight Run is not a band easy to hate. To hate Straylight Run is to hate passionate, emo-esque emotion set to some of the most melodic music you have ever heard. Think what you'd like of John's former signifigance to Taking Back Sunday--the infamous TBS lyrical majesty lives on in this band. An example of the band's words:
A slow descent from unique to routine, over and over... "just do it again, and this time with feeling." the spotlight. the focus on the friends and the feelings that made those stupid songs all worth singing..." --A Slow Descent
It can easily be said that the most essential part of Straylight Run is the piano. Michelle's piano expertise are truly what separates the band from many other bands out there. Rather than spend the next twenty minutes attempting to describe the incredible vibe created by the ingenius mixing of instruments, I'll simply instruct you to listen to at least the first minute of "Existentialism on Prom Night." Feel free to maintain the feeling of anticipation for listening to a song with such an intriguing title, for its just as you'd hoped.
With a few songs penned, performed and recorded (all of Straylight Run's songs are available for mp3 on their site), Straylight Run has set out to tour. Following shows with folks like Brand New, JamisonParker, and Hot Rod Circuit, the band has now planned a co-headlining tour with the New Amsterdams, which contains a piece of the Get-Up Kids. For the indie of the indie, that's a tour with two emo band sidebands that only you were supposed to know about. Sounds like a good deal.
Though their separation from TBS leaves John and Shaun free to let loose with this new band, what of Will Noon's commitments to Breaking Pangaea? Well, due to multiple reasons--this band most likely included--Breaking Pangaea is taking a break. Ironically enough, while Will Noon hits the drums in a band formed by ex-members of Taking Back Sunday, Breaking Pangaea bandmate Fred has been keeping himself busy touring with Taking Back Sunday, providing some extra vocal-and-guitar work. It's like some big twisted circle of emo coincidence.
Michelle is really, really hot, by the way.
All in all, if you haven't already heard Straylight Run, hurry and give them a listen. Theirs is the kind of band you wish you knew about months ago. Pay some respect to some of the geniuses of the genre. Check 'em out.
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R.S. '03 |
