This is another case of ‘very good at what you do, but I’ve heard it a million times already’. The Storybook Ending has a clichéd name to go with its generic sound, which is a shame because this six-piece can really execute their brand of punchy post-hardcore/screamo. But, as I have said many, many times before, this is a really flat genre now and while bands like TSE would have no doubt been huge a year ago, now they’re just recycling the same old riffs in the same old style.
‘Victory for my Princess’ starts with the scream-a-thon of ‘Lightening Strikes’, which features the bands dual vocalists sparring it out over a cacophony of chugging guitars and crashing drums. ‘Punch Me, I Bleed’ is more melodic, and again the two vocalists work well as one screams and the other keeps the melody, but bands like A Static Lullaby and Funeral For A Friend already do this a lot better, and they did it back in 2002/3. That’s not to rip on TSE too much, because the songs are performed to a high standard and the songs are structured pretty well. Closer ‘She Says ‘It’s All About Love” is probably the band’s best song, even if it does fall into the generic trap that many bands of this ilk fall into.
The Storybook Ending has plenty of talent and the songs on this disc are performed well, but there’s nothing new here which makes me think the band, on the basis of this EP, can break the mould. There’s definite talent here and the production and presentation, for a self-released record, is very, very good indeed. If you like Funeral For A Friend and all that jazz, TSE is a band I’d advise you check out as they’re one of the best exponents of this kind of music I’ve heard in a while. But it’s just too similar to many other bands doing the rounds right now. If the band go back to the drawing board and find their own sound, they could be shit hot indeed.
www.thestorybookending.co.uk
Paul