There is very little that is more heart wrenching than witnessing a band lose its shimmer right before your eyes. While it is a given that any band, like all things involving the living, will deteriorate with age, witnessing this act, which leaves them more or less a diminished version of what they previously were is simply just depressing.
It leaves you numb, as you stand there feeling helpless, wondering what the hell went wrong. With Straylight Run, a band I recall being emotionally explosive and passionately spiteful, it seems more that the members have been worn down and overwhelmed by lineup changes than actually misplaced their musical ability.
The loss of Michelle DaRosa [nee Nolan], former backing vocalist and pianist, who left the group in July to pursue a solo career, honestly seems to have crippled the band more than I had imagined it would have. John Nolan, backed by bassist Shaun Cooper and drummer Will Noon, appear to be a touch overwhelmed when it comes to dividing her parts among them.
The layered sound that made me fall in love with this group seems to be replaced by a slightly more jumbled garage band sound. Nolan, who triples his duties playing guitar, piano and supplying the group with vocals, simply is one pair of hands short of being able to supply the group with the previous sound that made them famous, regardless of whether the talent to be so still remains.
Glimpses of this talent poked through throughout their short, seven song set. The passion seemed to return as they sung “Existentialism on Prom Night,” while their energy poured through in the set’s closer, “Hands In The Sky (Big Shot).” Yet, for the most part, Straylight Run seemed to be doing little more than going through the motions. As disappointing as their set was to me, in all honesty, their apathy was even more so.
Straylight Run: website | myspace
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