The Storys tell a glittering tale on
Town Beyond the Trees, the Welsh band's sophomore full-length set. Drawing inspiration from Southern California's '70s scene but informed by the more dramatic of '90s British popsters --
Gene,
the Verve, and even
Radiohead -- the Swansea six's lustrous performances and timeless songs are classic in the truest sense of the word. "Evangelina," the most upbeat and infectious track on the album, twines chiming 18-string guitar around an emotive electric axe, and plays a hook-laden chorus off against a gust of harmonica, all in the pursuit of a woman struggling to retain her faith after her world has been atomized. Thoughtful lyrics and emotive themes splay across the set, given further weight by the luminescent guitars and occasional orchestral arrangements, notably on the powerful "Alone." The countrified title track, its lilting melody and gentle guitars belying its heart-rending theme (a death-row dad's final letter to his unborn child), provides a phenomenal showcase for frontman Steve Balsamo, one of several within. The singer duets with
Rosalie Deighton on the deeply shadowed "Trouble Deep," arguably the album's apotheosis, and a song that
Stevie Nicks would have donned shoes to sing. [The Angel Air reissue bundles onto two discs the original album together with the Storys' Live EP, Pt. 1, an excellent live performance with a track list culling from both the band's albums, a B-side, and the previously unrecorded "Hollywood."] ~ Dave Thompson