Straylight Run

Straylight Run is going to be a very large band. You mean you haven’t heard of them? Ok, in all fairness to you, Straylight Run is comprised of John Nolan and Shaun Cooper, who recently left their big, famous, popular gig with Taking Back Sunday, where Cooper played bass and Nolan played guitar, sang and shared songwriting duties. There are many different rumors about why they left the band but their site will only say it was a combination of “personal and professional” reasons. Anyway, while this is a huge blow to Taking Back Sunday, it could be a gift to music fans everywhere. Add in Nolan’s sister Michelle and drummer Will Noon from the dissolved Breaking Pangea and that is the current lineup for Straylight Run.

As of right now the band does not have a record contract, but with Taking Back Sunday’s success they have been able to get on some tours and record six songs that are available to download for free at www.straylightrun.com. I recently saw them open up for Coheed and Cambria in Cleveland. Then I downloaded all their tracks to hear the sounds from the studio.

The results are a more melodic, emotional style from John Nolan’s past with Taking Back Sunday. It still has the raw intensity with the beautiful imperfections of Nolan’s voice adding character instead of detracting from the quality of the music. Michelle Nolan adds a new dimension with her harmonies and countermelodies. Overall these are some solid rock songs.

Taking Back Sunday fans might be a little disappointed at first, but if they stick around long enough to hear “Mistakes We Knew We Were Making” they will see that this new band has a lot to offer. By far the most impressive of the six songs is “The Tension and the Terror.” This is the highpoint of the emotion on the album and it is highlighted by John and Michelle harmonizing on a very powerful chorus.

Download these and check them out because I am sure in a short period of time they will be gone and you will have to wait for the studio album when they sign with a label. Mark my words. They will have a few choices of labels to choose from.

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