You might not realise it, but A.R.S.O.N. could end up being quite the important album for Story Of The Year. This could be the one that determines whether people actually still care, or if the 20th anniversary of Page Avenue fluked Tear Me To Pieces into something resembling prominence. The calculations around that album in 2023 would suggest that wasn’t off the table, after all. It having basically the same artwork as the 2003 debut could very well be a gambit to reconnect some synapses in those elderly, mid-30s emo brains. A.R.S.O.N. is the real litmus test, though, for if Story Of The Year are really, truly capable of squeaking out some longevity on their own merits.
Nostalgia will always be a factor, mind. It’s impossible to discuss bands like this without the Big ‘N’ playing its role somewhere. Forget advancement or innovation; the worth of a band like Story Of The Year will always—always!—be predicated on how holistically they can evoke the early 2000s, and the reception that brings in. And that can’t be lost on Story Of The Year. Why else would A.R.S.O.N. stick so close to its predecessor, if not to suck up some good will to call its own? It’s all here, from the extreme polish, to the adherence of emo conventions to a fault, to a particularly saccharine, acoustic-led number appearing at roughly the same place in the tracklist.
But the thing about A.R.S.O.N. (and Tear Me To Pieces, upon a reevaluation) is that leading a new emo revolution isn’t in its purview. Story Of The Year appear quite happy in their box so why stretch past their capabilities? It leads to a much kinder view of albums like this that’s hard to qualify, but is there. Maybe it’s genuine improvement; maybe it’s a high tolerance; maybe it’s the proximity to a far less edifying emo album that’s lifted this as a result. Whatever it is, the weaponised nostalgia brandished by A.R.S.O.N. seems to be doing the trick.
That’s not to say that Story Of The Year are suddenly perfect, age-appropriate paragons of their scene or anything. 45-year-old Dan Marsala will still prostrate himself bleeding-heartedly on songs like Into The Dark and Good For Me / Feel So Bad, the telltale sign of an emo musician who hasn’t modified their swing in the last two decades, and doesn’t intend to. It’s a vibe of not-as-evergreen-as-it-thinks-it-is radio-rock that Story Of The Year are clearly trying to slip into. Jacoby Shaddix isn’t on Fall Away much, but him talking about waking up “with a novel in [his] inbox” is textbook current-day Papa Roach, and unfortunately fits all too well on this album.
What gives Story Of The Year an advantage (no matter how fractional) is that there’s definitely effort being sunk into A.R.S.O.N.. You can tell that, if nothing else, Story Of The Year don’t like the idea of resting of their laurels, which is certainly uncommon for their musical generation. It comes through the most in Marsala’s screaming, easily the most impressive part of the album. Not for any exceptional, different technique, but for how notable the bump in quality they provide is. On Disconnected, the way they build and slide out naturally is so foreign within this brand of post-hardcore, and it works here without fail. They feel as though they’re supposed to be here, instead of pasted in place because the rubric demands it.
It’s a shame that can’t be said for when Story Of The Year try to go heavier instrumentally, which was a limitation on Tear Me To Pieces that hasn’t really been addressed. When it’s straight from the top with Gasoline (All Rage Still Only Numb), you can’t not notice it—a dip into alt-metal that rounds off the edges and is all the less pronounced for it. It doesn’t get much better, either, so maybe it’s a blessing that they’re probably A.R.S.O.N.’s least memorable parts. On the other end of the spectrum, however (though not at the very extreme where sugary cloy-fests My Religion and Better Than High live), there’s a sincere improvement. Story Of The Year are by far at their strongest when embracing the pop-rock potential that their emo brings. 3am and Good For Me / Feel So Bad are glaringly obvious earworms, and See Through is just a chipmunking away from being a Sleeping With Sirens song, such is its fizzy, bright-and-bold rush.
When you go into A.R.S.O.N. not expecting a dazzling revelation, and instead with the acceptance that Story Of The Year are just happy to be pressing onward, it’s definitely more enjoyable. Still not amazing, though for a band whose best years are firmly behind them, that’s not a knock. And yes, you can’t discount nostalgia in the equation; if this were a debut from a brand new band, it’s wouldn’t be getting nearly as much leeway. But all of that is layering criticism upon an album where it’s not needed. There will be much worse than A.R.S.O.N. to be released in 2026, and accepting that when it’s not on the cuttingest of cutting edges is no bad thing. You might even enjoy it in spite of that.
For fans of: Silverstein, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Yellowcard
‘A.R.S.O.N.’ by Story Of The Year is released on 13th February on Sharptone Records.
Words by Luke Nuttall
