The Story (British band)
The Story are an English psychedelic folk duo comprising former Forest member Martin Welham and his son Tom Welham.[1] The pair write and record melodic songs that range from psychedelic pop to stream-of-consciousness folk and play an array of predominantly acoustic instruments as a backdrop to their blend of vocal harmonies.[2]
The Story | |
|---|---|
 Tom & Martin Welham | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres | Psychedelic folk, psychedelic pop, progressive folk, psychedelic rock, acoustic, folk rock |
| Years active | 2002– present |
| Labels | Good Village, Sunbeam, Cold Spring, Rainbow Quartz |
| Associated acts | Forest, The TimeLarks |
| Website | thestoryuk |
| Members | Martin Welham Tom Welham |
Biography
Martin Welham was part of the influential 1960's acid folk trio Forest.[3] In the early 2000s, thirty years after Forest disbanded, he formed Somerset based band The Story with his son Tom and returned to recording music. The duo's sound has echoes of Martin's earlier work[4] with authentic psychedelic songwriting at its core.[5]
The band's first release was a 2005 vinyl split album, The Dawn Is Crowned, with Californian freak folk band Whysp on Good Village Records. The Story's side features five broadly acoustic tracks that blend esoteric, dark imagery with powerful vocal harmonies resulting in an un-attributable psychedelic air.[6]
In 2006 the band released their first full-length album Tale Spin on Sunbeam Records - the first contemporary artists released by the label.[7] This psychedelic folk album features acoustic guitars, keyboards and light percussion combined with airy harmony vocals and wistful melodies.[8]
Follow-up album Arcane Rising was released in 2007. A stream of consciousness conceptual song cycle, the album is made up of improvised melodies and acoustic guitar backings augmented by flutes, melody harp, harmonica and hand percussion. Lyrically the album celebrates life and nature through the changing seasons whilst questioning religious doctrines and humankind's ecological footprint.[9] Also in 2007, The Story's sinister track "The Wicker Man" featured on the dark folk compilation album John Barleycorn Reborn on Cold Spring Records.[10]
The band's acclaimed[11] third full-length album Joy Ride on Memory Lane was released in 2011 on Rainbow Quartz Records under the band name The Story UK.[12] This confident, hook-laden[13] psychedelic album has a rockier sound than previous releases[14] whilst continuing to incorporate the duo's warm harmonies and highly melodic aesthetic.[15] Cold Spring Records 2011 dark folk compilation album John Barleycorn Reborn: Rebirth included The Story's ritualistic celebration piece "All Hallow's Eve".[16]
2018 saw the release of psychedelic folk rock release The Dawn is Crowned with Opium Tears which brought together the first ever digital release of their 2005 vinyl lp, alongside 5 esoteric, darkly oblique, progressive psychedelic rock songs.[17]
Discography
Split album
| The Dawn is Crowned | |
|---|---|
| Studio album (split vinyl album) by The Story and Whysp | |
| Released | October 2005 |
| Genre | Psychedelic folk, acoustic |
| Label | Good Village Recordings |
| Producer | The Story |
The Dawn Is Crowned
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beginning" | T. Welham | 1:20 |
| 2. | "Floating Box" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 4:17 |
| 3. | "Road to Ascension" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 3:53 |
| 4. | "Emergency" | M. Welham | 2:26 |
| 5. | "English Oak" | T. Welham | 4:54 |
| Total length: | 16:06 | ||
Studio albums
| Tale Spin | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by The Story | |
| Released | 7 March 2006 |
| Genre | Psychedelic folk |
| Length | 37:32 |
| Label | Sunbeam |
| Producer | The Story |
Tale Spin
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Story" | M. Welham | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Hope and Pray" | T. Welham | 2:51 |
| 3. | "Roll of the Dice" | T. Welham | 1:33 |
| 4. | "Down to the Trees" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 3:07 |
| 5. | "Windmills" | T. Welham | 4:33 |
| 6. | "Walking the Wall" | M. Welham | 3:21 |
| 7. | "Anyway" | T. Welham | 3:05 |
| 8. | "Strange World" | T. Welham | 2:43 |
| 9. | "Winterborn" | M. Welham | 4:24 |
| 10. | "All Around Me" | T. Welham | 3:34 |
| 11. | "Between the Lines" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 4:43 |
| Total length: | 37:32 | ||
| Arcane Rising | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by The Story | |
| Released | 6 November 2007 |
| Genre | Psychedelic folk, acoustic |
| Length | 39:58 |
| Label | Sunbeam |
| Producer | The Story |
Arcane Rising
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Story to Tell" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 1:15 |
| 2. | "Lingering" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 2:46 |
| 3. | "Watch Out" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 2:42 |
| 4. | "You Caught Me Just In Time" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 1:57 |
| 5. | "Winter Light" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 2:21 |
| 6. | "The Darkened Path" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 2:44 |
| 7. | "Slipstreams" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 4:26 |
| 8. | "A Wheel Turns" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 1:00 |
| 9. | "Awake Aware" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 1:24 |
| 10. | "Away With It All" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 1:42 |
| 11. | "The Fox" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 1:54 |
| 12. | "Precious One" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 4:43 |
| 13. | "Flash Across The Sky" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 3:01 |
| 14. | "Dappled Stream" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 3:00 |
| 15. | "A Course of Action" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 3:47 |
| 16. | "Night Calls" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 1:16 |
| Total length: | 39:58 | ||
| Joy Ride on Memory Lane | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by The Story UK | |
| Released | 11 September 2011 |
| Genre | Psychedelic pop, rock |
| Length | 50:23 |
| Label | Rainbow Quartz |
| Producer | The Story UK |
Joy Ride on Memory Lane
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Her Name Is Love" | T. Welham | 4:02 |
| 2. | "Standing In the Rain"[18]" | T. Welham | 3:55 |
| 3. | "For the Good of Your Soul" | M. Welham | 4:41 |
| 4. | "Running Out of Time" | T. Welham | 3:29 |
| 5. | "A Stone's Throw Away" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 3:06 |
| 6. | "Roundabout" | T. Welham | 5:17 |
| 7. | "Sixty Eight" | M. Welham | 4:17 |
| 8. | "Andromeda" | M. Welham | 4:32 |
| 9. | "She Doesn't Care" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 3:53 |
| 10. | "Real World" | M. Welham | 3:29 |
| 11. | "The Chase" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 4:27 |
| 12. | "Magic Lantern" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 5:15 |
| Total length: | 50:23 | ||
| The Dawn is Crowned with Opium Tears | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by The Story UK | |
| Released | 01 March 2018 |
| Genre | Psychedelic folk, psychedelic rock |
| Length | 38:13 |
| Label | The Story UK |
| Producer | The Story UK |
The Dawn is Crowned with Opium Tears
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beginning" | T. Welham | 1:27 |
| 2. | "Floating Box" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Road to Ascension" | T. Welham, M. Welham | 4:02 |
| 4. | "Emergency" | M. Welham | 2:27 |
| 5. | "English Oak" | T. Welham | 4:22 |
| 6. | "The Moon, The Sun" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 5:00 |
| 7. | "Wonderland" | T. Welham | 4:41 |
| 8. | "Dawn Tourist" | M. Welham | 4:13 |
| 9. | "The Wickerman" | M. Welham, T. Welham | 2:30 |
| 10. | "Opium Tears" | M. Welham | 5:07 |
| Total length: | 38:13 | ||
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Dusted | (Positive) [19] |
| UnbrokenCircle | (Favorable) [20] |
The Dawn Is Crowned
The Story's contribution to the split vinyl LP The Dawn Is Crowned was described by Doug Mosurak of Dusted Magazine as "panoptic in scope and fairly timeless, interjecting frills and fantasy elements into solid, warm musicianship".[19] While UnbrokenCircle's Mark Coyle described the song "Road To Ascension" as "a masterpiece of any era" and the vocal harmonies as "incredible with an un-attributable psychedelic air".[20]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| FoxyDigitalis |   |
| PsychedelicFolk.com | (Favorable) [22] |
Tale Spin
Jeff Penczak of Foxy Digitalis Magazine described Tale Spin as "a whistful collection of melodic folk pop full of gorgeous harmonies" while PsychedelicFolk.com's Gerald Van Waes noted the "warm, delicate beautiful harmony vocals, simple guitars and percussion" making it "a beautiful album and another winner for true and truthful acid folk collectors."
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| PopMatters | |
| Shindig! | (Positive) [24] |
| Uncut | |
Joy Ride on Memory Lane
Joy Ride on Memory Lane has received positive reviews. PopMatters' Stephen Haag described the album as "Utterly Charming" and noted that the duo "definitely have near-encyclopedic knowledge of the Britfolk/psych genre".[23] Shindig! Magazine's Pat Curran described the songs as "highly melodic, warm and inviting" and commented that the album "bears repeated listening and comes highly recommended."[24] Uncut Magazine's Rob Young said the father and son "make a hugely sympathetic pairing" and that the album "combines the best elements of Brit folk-rock's heyday".[25]
The TimeLarks
In 2011, Martin and Tom began performing as part of the folk trio The TimeLarks[26] and appeared at the 2012 International Pop Overthrow festival in Liverpool's Cavern Club. In 2016 they released two progressive acoustic folk albums Wheel of Stone and Grain of Light.[27]
References
- Young 2010, p. 604.
- "Profile of The Story". Theunbrokencircle.co.uk. 31 January 2008. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "Classic Artist Profile on TheUnbrokenCircle website". Theunbrokencircle.co.uk. 31 January 2008. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "Citizens Arcane", Shindig, Vol 2 (May - June 2008):32
- "psychedelic Folk review page : The Story". Psychedelicfolk.com. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "The Dawn Is Crowned Review". Theunbrokencircle.co.uk. 3 February 2008. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "The Story biography at". Sunbeamrecords.com. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "Tale Spin review". Othermusic.com. 11 May 2006. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "The Story Arcane Rising Review", Shindig, Vol 2 (May - June 2008):59
- "The Wicker Man video". Youtube.com. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "Album Review", Uncut, (November 2011)
- "Red Eye Distribution artist information". Redeyeusa.com. 27 September 2011. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- Haag, Stephen. "Popmatters review". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "Terrascope Magazine album review". Terrascope.co.uk. 26 April 1997. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "Joy Ride on Memory Lane Review", Shindig, Vol 4 (24 November 2011)
- "John Barleycorn Reborn: Rebirth information". Coldspring.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "The Story - UK psych band in conversation: 'The Whole Story' (2018)". Youtube.com. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
- Standing in the Rain video
- Mosurak, Doug Review: The Dawn Is Crowned. Retrieved 15 November 2011. Archived 12 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Coyle, Mark Review: The Dawn Is Crowned. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- Penczak, Jeff Review: The Story: Tale Spin. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- Van Waes, Gerald Review: The Story: Tale Spin. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- Haag, Stephen Review: The Story UK: Joy Ride on Memory Lane. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- Curran, Pat (24 November 2011). "Review: Joy Ride on Memory Lane". Shindig!.
- Young, Rob (November 2011). "Review: Album Review". Uncut: 102.
- "TimeLarks profile". Facebook.com. 27 May 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "The TimeLarks discography". cdbaby.com. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
Sources
- Young, Rob (2010). Electric Eden. London: Faber and Faber Ltd. ISBN 978-0-571-23752-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
External links
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