"The Needles The Space" by Straylight Run

By Will James

Is Long Island indie saved? Straylight Run’s June 19 release, “The Needles The Space,” is certainly a shift in the right direction. In the four years since their debut, the indie piano rockers have explored the world outside suburban Baldwin and returned to the Island with an array of healthy new influences; namely, the brainy Midwestern folk-rock of Connor Oberst and Tim Kasher, among others.

“I’ve had enough of all these songs of self-imposed unhappiness,” sing siblings John and Michelle Nolan, trading off mid-sentence in the chorus of “Take It to Manhattan,” an up-tempo mid-album tune with a piano line that pays tribute to Elliot Smith. In this, and in a thousand other moments, the singers have distanced themselves from their Long Island emo/hardcore roots, striving to identify with the sad, cerebral indie-lectuals of the American bread basket. In the opening track, “The Words We Say,” John Nolan tackles the philosophy of linguistic relativity. In the album’s first single, “Soon We’ll Be Living in the Future,” he poignantly describes his version of Freud’s “trauma of nonbeing.” That’s existentialism – and not the “prom night” variety. I never thought I’d be so happy that John and bass player Shaun Cooper ditched Taking Back Sunday.

Speaking of which, it seems John shines best as part of a duo – his dynamic with Taking Back Sunday front man Adam Lazzara was the emo band’s biggest novelty. In “The Needles the Space,” his sister Michelle steps up to a much more prominent role. In fact, the record is almost an even split between the siblings, contributing to its diversity and, at some level, its disjointedness. The best moments, though, are created by the dynamic between John and Michelle united – the massive harmonies, the tradeoffs, and the joint-songwriting.

John’s tracks constitute much of the band’s great leap forward. He ditches the piano, which was the foundation of Straylight Run’s self-titled 2004 debut, for folk-style acoustic guitar layered with production-stage subtleties like keyboard sounds, woodwinds, brass, organ, accordion and tons of vocals. His song writing is the continuation of the progress made in the 2005 EP “Prepare to Be Wrong.” “Soon We’ll Be Living in the Future” is an honest, rather unpretentious out-letting of death anxiety that rings of Bright Eyes’ triumph “Lifted,” albeit, somewhat less genius. “Who Will Save Us Now,” a political rant directed at a timid, fearful society, delivers zingers like, “You can rest assured / It’s the young and the poor that fought all our wars.” Throughout “The Needles The Space,” John utilizes the cynical howl of Tim Kasher of The Good Life and Cursive, making you wish he had written more tracks.

Between almost every John track is a reprieve by sister Michelle, who has grown into her role as a co-front person. Her vocal talents are realized as early as the second track, “The Miracle That Never Came,” a story song reminiscent of Tilly and the Wall. Overall, Michelle’s tracks are more stripped down and experimental than her brother’s – she relies less on his vocal input than he does on hers, in a sense. For example, “How Do I Fix My Head” and “Cover Your Eyes,” a pair of tastefully-executed ambient/epic pop songs, address issues of self-esteem and body-image in the styles of Feist and, sometimes, even Gwen Stefani. In both, she exudes a glow of character and confidence that was still blossoming on earlier releases.

However, the siblings’ stylistic rift cleaves the album in two, creating an environment where a handful of really great songs stack up into a product less than the sum of its parts. There are a few of those late reflective songs that add coherence to the album unit; for instance, “Buttoned Down,” and the closer, “The First of the Century.” But it would have been better if the two principal songwriters sacrificed a bit of their individuality and collaborated more closely. “The Needles The Space” could have been more than great.

Thankfully, “what is” more than outshines “what could have been.” The bottom line is that the songs are catchy, thoughtful, often brilliantly composed and indicative of massive progress. Straylight Run has caught a bug somewhere in their adventures – the same virus that drives The Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, Cursive, The Good Life, Death Cab For Cutie, The Shins, and nameless others. It’s a virus that makes you think too much, and it makes you sing with big words about big thoughts. Maybe, just maybe, it’ll catch back home.

Track list:

1) The Words We Say
2) The Miracle That Never Came
3) Soon We’ll Be Living in the Future
4) How Do I Fix My Head
5) Who Will Save Us Now
6) Cover Your Eyes
7) We’ll Never Leave Again
8) Take It To Manhattan
9) Still Alone
10) This Is The End
11) Buttoned Down
12) Untitled
13) The First of the Century

• Folk
• Indie
• Reviews