Short Stories are a 4 piece indie rock band from East London. Valhalla is their second EP and first as a quartet.
The first track, Never Gonna Grow Up, is heavily influenced by indie. The chorus is especially easy to pick up so before long you find yourself humming along, or singing, should you find yourself isolated from the outside world.
Sit Alone is a really solid rock track. The vocal control at the start of lines in the chorus shows great technique. This track really benefits from the addition of a second guitarist to the band. The lead lines, especially in the chorus add some much-needed interest. There was probably room to add to the song, perhaps with an instrumental outro.
My favourite track of the EP is She Don’t Know Me. The use of synthesisers really takes the song up a level. I suspect when played live, this is the song on the set list which gets the most energetic reaction from the crowd. The guitar solo is quite restrained though, something those who have played in bands will know usually takes excessive force upon the lead guitarist to achieve.
You can tell the final track, Stories Of London, is the most personal song to the band. You get the feeling they took their time reworking and sculpting it until they got the song they envisioned. Nearly every band has a signature song and this is likely to be the one for Short Stories.
This is clearly an up-and-coming band. The tracks all have quite a different feel. Of course bands feel it is necessary to experiment early on to show variety and to find their sound. However, this does affect the flow in an EP of just four tracks. I do, however, like the fact that the band didn’t feel the need to extend or add to songs once they felt they were complete. The longest track is just 3:21 long, making this probably the shortest EP I’ve heard. It would be easy to add extra sections to lengthen songs, but this was admirably resisted.
Each song in the EP is well-written and arranged and the heavy indie influence and catchiness of the tunes are likely to be popular with a mass audience, given the opportunity. I suspect the future success of Short Stories will depend on their live performances. The songs lend themselves brilliantly to putting on a great show for fans of indie rock, which could soon lead to bigger opportunities. Not the finished article yet by any stretch, but lots of potential and a very promising start.
Rating: 7/10
Highlights: “She Don’t Know Me”, “Stories Of London”
Band Links: Facebook
Valhalla EP was released February 2nd and is available from all good online retailers.
Review By Greg Samuel
