NOTHING MORE | The Stories We Tell Ourselves | Album Review

For new bands, it can be very difficult to get widespread acclaim across your playing field, whether that be the simple act of playing straight-up rock or metal, or delving into another subgenre completely. There isn't an expectation for many young and budding bands to legitimately make it to their second major-label album these days with so much buzz and excitement, but whenever a band does make it, that's not something you should take for granted. Nothing More seemed to come out of the blue for rock fans with their self-titled album in 2014 and seemed like such a new face even though they've actually been at it for over a decade, starting way back in 2003 and creating underground albums in the form of "Shelter", "Save You Save Me", and notably "The Few Not Fleeting". Nothing More has also gone through multiple lead singer changes as well, with vocalist Jonny Hawkins stepping down as the drummer to have his current position he's held since 2008. That would come as a surprise to people who think that the band just got started since they are one of the new faces in music. Now in 2017, Nothing More have arrived again after over three years of absence from releasing new material, and they are here to bring us an 18-track journey with their next album "The Stories We Tell Ourselves", and there's a sense of anticipation as to what the final product will bestow for rock fans. 

My experience with the pre-released singles from the album gradually increased in terms of enjoyment. The duo of released songs that came first, "Don't Stop" and "Go To War" definitely got me to notice that this album was headed in a great direction, but it wasn't until I really analyzed the lyricism of "Go To War" and its themes revolving around questioning if actually "going to war" benefits us in the end, backed behind the impressive musicianship and vocals, that I really felt that this album would be special. And then, we got the next song from the album, "Let Em Burn", which set in stone that this album had a pure chance of becoming one of the better moments of the year. That was furthered even more with the emotional ballad "Just Say When" and the cinematic and climactic "Who We Are". After listening to these five songs individually, I could sense that not only have Nothing More grown from their previous work but also that each of these five songs have personality and are able to pull you close with every element imaginable. In short, I cannot think of another album I've heard since doing this where all five pre-released tracks were amazing and earned their repeated plays as I anticipated the album's release. And now that I have sat through this 58 minutes of music, and actually taken that journey, I will state wholeheartedly that I got just what I expected from it. Actually, I think I may have gotten much more than just that. 

The first thing you'll probably notice is that this album is 18 tracks long, but only 12 of them are actual songs. The other six are interludes or instrumental pieces that have two words in their title divided by a forward slash (for example, "Convict/Divide"). These pieces blend in perfectly with the other songs and don't make for a disjointed experience, and they don't feel like they were just taken from the first twenty seconds of the song and carelessly put on the track listening to fool listeners. These are segmented well into the flow of the album and actually feel cinematic in a way. Even the sound bites of speeches that are taken from Alan Watts highlight any of the places where they are heard, and add to the overall theme of the record, which has been stated by Jonny Hawkins to be a more introspective journey than the previous album, and you definitely can see what Hawkins is talking about once you really get your sight on the actual songs that make up this album. But, as for the interludes, they don't dilute the message of these songs at all but rather enhance them and make sure that they get you involved emotionally without overpreaching or overstepping their boundaries. As I need to imply, this is how you do instrumentals and 90-second tracks correctly if you're looking to incorporate them, especially when you're utilizing six of them. 

Going into the actual songs here, I feel inclined to spoil everything for anyone reading by saying that there isn't a single bad track or misplaced cut within. It's hard for an album with a theme to it to have anything that seems misplaced since each piece of the puzzle needs to fit somehow on such an affair, but on this album, they fit so well. Each of the tracks you'll hear on this record have a different way they approach this theme within the songwriting, such as divorce on cuts like "Still In Love" and "Just Say When", not to mention "The Great Divorce" (which pretty much says it in the title), while some tracks will feature a more political stance within such as on the pre-released singles "Let Em Burn" and even "Go To War" although that track could really be applied to other situations like the previously alluded romantic angle as well as the familial angle. However, there are also songs like the closing track "Fade In/Fade Out", which are talking about fatherhood and growing older as a person, which is a theme that can easily fit along with the concept of this record which is a very human and introspective one indeed. There's definitely enough material on this album tonally that make the listener feel something that's real, while also providing them with heartfelt moments that can bring lumps to the throat, the obvious cut that brings that to the table being "Just Say When" with its fantastic lyrics and the added string section that boosts everything as the track goes on. 

Impressively, the thought-provoking lyrics and powerful themes of these songs are equally as phenomenal as the musicality behind said songs. Every track shows the band at their full potential, and every element that is introduced into a song instantly works with a song's flow and its message. Whether it be heavy tracks like the opening track "Do You Really Want It" or the more softer side of the band shown on "Still In Love", or even an in between track like "Go To War" or "Who We Are", not only is the guitarwork perfect and full of creativity and the drumming powerful and unique, but the way tracks like these are laid out and structured are also amazing and will have you in shock at what the band is a capable of. Other tracks that come to mind when considering their pacing are tracks like the relentless "Funny Little Creatures" and "Ripping Me Apart", both of which also show off Jonny Hawkins' impressive vocals. It's no secret that he may be one of the best vocalists rock has ever seen with his range and his energy throughout the album, and on the entirety of the album it really shows, so that pretty much speaks for itself. Even on a more radio-friendly song like "Tunnels", there are no stones left unturned as far as consistency goes. It's proof that Nothing More are truthfully a band that is so talented that any music that they create only gets more and more creative. This disc truly makes you feel something and puts ingenuity first with everything it is trying to accomplish. 

Whenever you have a band create a fantastic album, it's something very special for any music listener. Whenever said band goes above and beyond the call of duty to deliver a perfect amalgamation of quality songwriting, music composition, and overall feeling and emotion, you get something very rare in this day and age for music of all styles. Nothing More and their second major label album have succeeded on every level possible to make something that doesn't even come close to dropping in its quality. They have created a disc that can be summed up by a word that rarely is used to describe an album in the modern musical landscape: perfect. This is a record that is completely flawless from beginning to end, and I can't begin to stress my reasoning enough. This is a record that needs to be listened to by not just modern rock and alternative metal fans, but by everyone else. People need to seek this album out as fast as they can because this has the potential to be the album that rock bands and fans will look to years into the future as the accurate measurement of other albums like it. Because in my humble opinion, this may be not just the best album that we've been granted this year, but this could potentially be the album of the decade. I honestly believe that it could bear that honor. And if that has not swayed you to pick it up and have it in your collection immediately, you are missing out big time.

 

RATING: 10/10

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.