Two years ago John Nolan and Shaun Cooper were on the cusp of something huge with Taking Back Sunday. Then, suddenly – and surprisingly (at the time anyway) – they quit and formed Straylight Run. When the Long Island quartet’s demos first surfaced online, they were about as far removed from Lazzara and co as you could expect. Their tender piano-led sound came across as bittersweet, yet as endearing as any release from last year. Less than 12 months has passed and, 200,000 sales later, Straylight (made up of John’s sister Michelle and Will Noon) are back with a brand new EP which sees them take a surprising twist towards the more abstract and slightly less obvious. Don’t get me wrong – these songs are brilliant, they’re just not as catchy and straightforward as those older ones and it could take some getting used to.
‘Prepare To Be Wrong’ could have been renamed ‘Prepare To Be Surprised’. For starters, this six-tracker features less catchy choruses, a slower tempo and more Michelle on vox. Which is no bad thing – the haunting ‘I Don’t Want This Anymore’ features ghostly vocals and odd samples to create an eerie atmospheric opening, while ‘Hands In The Sky (Big Shot)’ is also great, yet a departure from what we had come to expect from the band. John’s vocals make ‘It Never Gets Easier’ sound familiar, but I think that’s only because the huge vocal melody will nestle comfortably in your head and quite possibly on MTV2 and VH2 sometime soon. Michelle’s vocals again add an extra layer of warmth, making this track the pick of a very good bunch.
My advice is to listen to this EP with an open mind. The level of musicianship is awesome and this is best illustrated on ‘With God On Our Side’ which shows a musical maturity that the ‘Run hinted at on the album. While the huge singalong parts may be slightly watered down this time round, I think many people will find this EP infinitely more rewarding. It’s one of those growers that gives you more satisfaction because it’s not so instant. If you liked the EP you will like this – but I think ‘Prepare To Be Wrong’ could also shove something rather large down the throat of the doubters…
www.straylightrun.com
Victory Records
Paul