Before Stories, North Eastern Scotland’s minimalist miserabilsts, have just released their new EP ‘The Next Reason to Breathe’ on Ripcord Records. Formed in 2015, the duo consisting of Jamie Reid and Colin Brennan set out to make art that says exactly what they want and then stop, abandoning traditional song forms in the process. This has been their staple ever since. This record, their fourth EP, has been released on Ripcord Records as a cassette or digital download. Through the record, the band attempt to make sense of a dramatically changing world, and this is reflected in the lyrics but also the entire creative process. The EP was recorded in their own houses with little interaction, aside from emailing ideas back and forward. The band say “It’s been a journey in accepting each other’s vision and having a lot less individual control over how the songs have been formed.”
‘Toe the Line’ opens the EP with a ride cymbal rhythm, closely followed by a bright tremolo harmonic riff on electric guitar and finally Reid’s distinctly irate vocals. The guitar riff that follows sound almost nu metal in its guttural repetition, coming close to the sound of Deftones or Linkin Park. Underneath this all is an insistent drum loop propelling the song forward.
‘Born Below the Tide’ is more post-punk in style, with its abrasive trebly guitar hook and Interpol-like bass riff. As the song progresses, Reid’s vocal gathers intensity growing into a climactic crescendo, before the guitar riff is abruptly cut off, and with it the song.
Third track ‘Hutl’ follows a similarly didactic style, the vocals lying over the top of a System of a Down type flange guitar riff. Reid looks at poverty, lamenting the situation “The future looks the same as the past and the present, sleep walking from one day to the next”. In response to the insanity of Black Friday, Reid quizzes “The meaning of poverty gets redefined every six to eight weeks, they’ll be fighting over TV screens every Black Friday, is this the brightest day that they’ll ever see?”
‘1 Like = 1 Prayer’ follows a groovier pattern, with grunge guitar tones employed over an energetic bassline. Graduates of the University of YouTube are lambasted in the lyric “… do your research they say, bending facts to suit their made-up mind, turning water into brine”. The hook of the lyric “Hive mind the glorious design, now it’s a f***ing cesspit” rings out in response to the downward spiral of Facebook comments sections and Tweets that ignore factual information that don’t fit with the keyboard warriors’ bigoted sense of self.
‘X99’ begines an almost Arcade Fire-esque four to the flour drum pattern, with a much more discordant guitar motif over the top. This is succeeded with a spacious reverb-soaked guitar and Reid’s trademark vocal railing against the ills he sees around him. There is lull in the musical intensity as a third guitar figure makes its way into focus, joined by a closer lead vocal. On the cue of the returning kick drum, the intensity rises once more, also ushering in a second vocal by Brennan on its second inclusion, caustically harking “the best thing about the end of the world is the end”, counterbalancing against an equally weary vocal by Reid.
Final track ‘Come to Pass’ brings the energy level down and initially consists just of electric guitar and voice. The lyrics dip into introspection “If I didn’t see it every day, I’m scared I would forget your face, like I forget about the purpose I had envisioned for this day, can’t seem to put a finger on any good that I have made”. As a grander, more tribal beat kicks in, the hypnotic search of the lyric “Can I be more than parasitical existence, does life come just to pass?” plays over a spiky rock section. As the original sparsity returns, marrying Reid’s melancholic lyrics with the simple, clean guitar phrases, the guitar, much like in ‘Born Below the Tide’ is the last remaining sound, and is abruptly cut off. This, the last vestige of Before Stories concise attempt at raging against the machine.
This final cut off is a fitting tribute to Before Stories’ mission statement, showing that they are here for the message of expression and no more. They remain committed to their ethics and their creative style. This integrity and originality has been recognised by Ripcord Records, who have picked up on the merits of the duo and released the EP as a cassette on top of its digital release. Will their be more stories to tell? It’s probable; in this fast changing world, we might need their voice.
‘The Next Reason to Breathe’ is available to buy from Ripcord Records’ Bandcamp.
Before Stories online:
– Sandy Power
Pictish Prism 