The Narrative - The Narrative

Indie, Pop Rock
Independent

The Narrative

The Narrative

Review rating:

4

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When The Narrative released their six song EP titled Just Say Yes, the scene was awash with bands of a similar sound. The departures of genre frontrunners Copeland and Lydia leaves a vacancy however, and it seems they've handed the flame to The Narrative to carry. While their debut EP, was safe, playing close to their peers and tinged with naivety, never truly allowing the band to flourish, since then, naturally The Narrative have come into their own, allowing a more streamlined sound to come to the fore, breaking free of the shackles kept in place by their peers.

The album opens up with the vivacious “Fade”, which in turn is one of The Narrative’s stronger songs, immediately Suzie Zeldin’s stunning vocals come to the fore and commandeer attention, along with some truly inspired lyrics to lead off the album, painting out the theme for the coming twelve songs. Hereafter, "Cherry Red", led by Jesse Gabriel, struggles to stand up to the opener, with some naivety of their EP slipping through, in the form of awkward lyrics that never truly allow Gabriel to shine. Musically, both songs are competent, however the rock-ish edge to "Cherry Red" seems to not suit the band, in particular Gabriel’s vocals, a somewhat recurrence throughout the album.

As the album opens up we hear yet more stunning work by Zeldin who outshines her singing partner, Jesse Gabriel. Though a strong vocalist, he seems out of depth when pitched against the magnificent Zeldin, who produces the strongest performance of all on the album’s gorgeous highlight “Don’t Want To Fall”. Musically The Narrative channel the likes of Death Cab For Cutie, with mid-paced rock jaunts dominating the album, which is where The Narrative seem comfortable. Only at times do they deviate from this formula to mixed results, like the faltering “You Will Be Mine” to the aforementioned ballad “Don’t Want to Fall”.

Lyrically, the band are at the top of their game, bar some minor misssteps, every lyric is crafted in such detail they allow each song to carefully narrate it’s meaning perfectly. Not one for overdrawn metaphors and other stylistic choices, The Narrative keep it simple and relatable, no more so than on “Don’t Want to Fall” which portrays the struggle of trying to forget perfectly. Throughout we are witness to some stunning work by the lyricists, such as, “And drinking is no excuse,/It's an easy one to use /When lack of self-control has left you making poor decisions for yourself” from opener "Fade", which sets the bar high on the lyrical front and from there on the band don't falter.

The Narrative have undoubtedly grown as a band since releasing Just Say Yes. Their self-titled album is an incredibly strong debut, laced with an abundance of wonderful songs, and a few slight, forgivable, missteps. From here, the world is in The Narrative’s palm, they can only go on to bigger and better things.

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