The Story So Far - Proper Dose Album Review

by Kris Lincoln

With the release of their fourth album Proper Dose, The Story so Far shows us why they took 3 years to write and record this record. The maturity of the sound and the lyrics compared to their earlier work is evident right away. The band explored different styles on this album while staying true to the sound that they’ve created over the last 10 years. The band has also opened up a lot on this album, for the most part they’ve written about a past relationship and the feelings towards it. The lyrics on this album go a lot deeper into the personal relationship with oneself.

This album is very refreshing. It’s a look into the softer side of the band that has produced a lot of past aggression in their songs. “It’s all love now” is a lyric that stuck out to me from the sixth track “Upside Down.” A lot of what this band has written about in the past has been hateful and negative but it seems there’s a theme of forgiveness and moving on throughout this album. From the fourth track of the album “Take Me As You Please” there’s a line, “It’s all good, it’s all love, now it’s over.” This band seems to be moving on from the things that have been weighing them down, and this album is the perfect soundtrack to match that feeling. While there are a lot of positive vibes in this record, there are a lot of references of substance abuse. “Dove through the mud for my verse” is a line from the third track “Out of it”. “Mud” is a reference to lean which is a codeine based drug. In the song “Keep This Up” which is the second song on the album there’s a line, “my pessimistic views stem from all the drugs I use.” They’re talking about how substance abuse is making them look at things in a negative light. A line from the seventh track “If I Fall” offers some hope, “I’m forcing myself to get better by fall” and the album came out the day before fall starts, and I think there’s no coincidence there. 

All in all, I’d say this is one of the most solid records this band has ever put out, I’d give it a 9/10. They were open about a lot of personal things in this record and I think it payed off. The album produces such a genuine vibe and the soft approach they took with the sound makes for an emotional yet relaxing listen. I’m thoroughly impressed with where this band has ended up, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.