Since their introduction to the scene in 2007, The Story So Far has been the band to deliver the same album with different names. The songs have remained the same with lyrics of typical heartbreak with catchy drumbeats and generic pop-rock guitar. They have had a lot to grow in a decade and such can be heard in Proper Dose, out now via Pure Noise Records.

There is a lot of depth in this album. The title-track, that opens the album up is only a couple of minutes but effective. It’s catchy and fast, setting up the album well. The third track and single ‘Out Of It’ is reminiscent of The Story So Far’s previous work. They released this song about a year ago and re-recorded it for this album and did a great job with it. The remixed production this time around stands out—the fast drum fills and catchy chorus will be fan-favorite. Ryan Torf does a superb percussion job in this album.

The acoustics that back-up ‘Let It Go’ carry out a strong vocal point by Parker Cannon. It is one of the better-balanced songs on the record. Emotionally driven, ‘Upside Down’ is cleaner than most songs that have created before. You can really sense they have grown as musicians in this track. The guitar work in ‘If I Fall’ takes the band to a different kind of level they haven’t experimented in work prior to this release. The anti-drug anthem, ‘Growing On You’ comes in powerful with lyrics that will ignite all the feels. It seems as though the band has grown up with their fans and have put aside songs about angst, love drama and created deeper felt songs. ‘Light Year’ wraps the album nicely. Lyrically, it’s a reflection song, musically it carries all the elements of pop rock from clean guitar riffs to strutting drum snares.

But as their fourth release seems to showcase the growth of this band, there are still old habits that haven’t died. There are a couple of songs in the album that is nothing spectacular like the forgettable ‘Keep This Up,’ ‘Take Me As You Please,’ the all over the place and hard to listen to ‘Need To Know’ and the slow filler track, ‘Line’. Those tracks seem just to be there—not taking the band to their full potential.

Proper Dose could be The Story So Far’s reinvention. The album is created with a lot of pain of growing up and the positives that comes with struggling. Tracks are cleaner and although the sound may be typical, it feels fresher. It’s not their best work but has a lot of potential and has brought the band a new, better direction.

7.5/10

CYNTHIA JO