The Storys - Town Beyond the Trees (Hall) Often described as “West Coast Rock”, the sound of The Storys is far away from the psychedelic outpourings of Haight Asbury circa ’68 as represented by Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Grateful Dead, or even their Welsh compatriots, Man. Rather they take as their source the mellower sounds of Laurel Canyon and Santa Monica, and the likes of The Turtles, Poco, the Byrds and CSN&Y. So many years on both schools probably have as many detractors as they have admirers, but for quite different reasons; while the former’s radical experimentation is felt by some to have dated badly, the latter is openly derided as the anodyne soundtrack to bloated excess. Truth is, if you’re going to try and get away with any version of West Coast rock you had better do it well, especially if its 2008 and you hail from Swansea. Fortunately, The Storys have a genuine talent for the frameworks and melodies which make for easy listening rather than queasy listening, and for the hooks and harmonies which ensure that otherwise innocuous ditties burrow under the skin and stay there. Which is why opener “Long Hard Road” succeeds in a way that nothing on the recent Eagles album does, and why songs such as “Evangeline”, “Nobody Loves You” and “Trouble Deep” similarly hit the spot. There’s no single number here to rival the classic “Cinnamon” from the band’s first collection, but title track “Town beyond the Trees”, which raises the game with distinct echoes of Rodney Crowell at his best, certainly runs it close. Forgive them then the patronage of Dame Elton, the over-lush strings, and the odd filler; if we get even a half decent summer this could be just the thing you need to go with it. www.thestorys.co.uk Neil B. Next Past Reviews: March 07, April 07, May 07, June/July 07, Sept/Oct 07, Dec07, Jan08, Feb 08, Mar 08