I don’t think I need to give Stories and Comets much of an introduction. I’ve been a big fan of the band since they were My Favourite Co-Pilot, a band that mixed soaring melodies with raw aggression to fuse one of the best unsigned post-hardcore bands in the country. They were swiftly snapped up by Deck Cheese – and promptly split. But never fear, for days later Stories and Comets were born, with former Caught In The Headlights guitarist Phil joining the ranks. The two bands are entirely different entities now; S&C are a lot harder and technically are better musicians too, even if MFCP probably had the better melodies in their songs.
‘Time To Write You Out’ is the band’s first official release. It’s a hard and heavy record, wracked with emotion. John Hoy-Taylor’s vocals remain the band’s strength, but Phil’s guitar work is inventive and brings a real identity. This is the main difference between the two bands – gone is the obvious verse/chorus of old and in has come a band willing to experiment a little more. On the whole it works well, with the catchy songs complete with tracks which could be the soundtrack to a knife fight.
‘Chalk Outlines’ is a bad-ass opener, ‘Bend Not Break’ bloody huge and ‘Hang Yourself’ a piece of melodic cool. Dan’s drumming seems to have developed a lot too – maybe it is musical maturity, maybe it’s the production, but this record sounds and feels better than the old MFCP material. Things continue with the awesome ‘The Sky Fight’ and my personal favourite ‘A Pox, A Plague, A Poison’, arguably the heaviest track on the CD. It’s not the heaviness that makes me like it, it’s the journey the song takes to get there – twisting and contorting its way through brash guitar work and a more mellow side. And not once does it ever come across as borrowed or contrived.
Stories and Comets can quite easily forge a name for themselves nationally. I can’t really think of a band that do this kinda thing as well as they do, and this record really emphasises that opinion. ‘Time To Write You Out’ is a real gem of a record and fans of the dreaded ‘emo’ genre really need this record in their collection.
www.storiesandcomets.co.uk
Deck Cheese Records
Paul