straylight run / albums

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- The Needles The Space
- - 169,807 plays
  - 15 favs
  - 2 shares
Straylight Run
Released 2007

Track #12
01:15
7,902 plays

Buttoned Down [Multimedia Track]
00:00
2,376 plays

How Do I Fix My Head [Multimedia Track]
00:00
2,363 plays

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songs

- 1
- The Words We Say
- 03:24
- 16,454 plays

- 2
- The Miracle That Never Came
- 02:33
- 13,719 plays

- 3
- Soon We'll Be Living In The Future
- 02:54
- 19,252 plays

- 4
- How Do I Fix My Head
- 04:49
- 12,991 plays

- 5
- Who Will Save Us Now
- 03:50
- 12,546 plays

- 6
- Cover Your Eyes
- 03:25
- 10,454 plays

- 7
- We'll Never Leave Again
- 05:37
- 11,104 plays

- 8
- Take It To Manhattan
- 02:52
- 11,701 plays

- 9
- Still Alone
- 02:44
- 11,738 plays

- 10
- This Is The End
- 03:36
- 10,057 plays

- 11
- Buttoned Down
- 03:46
- 11,978 plays

- 12
- Track #12
- 01:15
- 7,902 plays

- 13
- The First Of The Century
- 04:51
- 10,059 plays

- 14
- Buttoned Down [Multimedia Track]
- 00:00
- 2,376 plays

- 15
- How Do I Fix My Head [Multimedia Track]
- 00:00
- 2,363 plays

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album review

Straylight Run's self-titled 2004 debut was an intrepid attempt to break out of the claustrophobic, navel-gazing clutches of emo. Since co-founder John Nolan's old band Taking Back Sunday was instrumental in defining one of the most distinctive genres of the new millennium, it was both a brave and a necessary stab at carving out a new identity. The Needles the Space attempts to make the same break, with mixed results. It's not quite an emo album, but neither is it particularly good. Nolan's sister Michelle takes a more prominent role here than on the eponymous debut, sharing the lead vocals, and harmonizing on almost every song. Her breathy, little-girl voice works well on pop-oriented songs such as "Still Alone," but is no match for the dynamics and passion needed for the adolescent soap operas of "How Do I Fix My Head" and "This Is the End." John Nolan's sonic palette has expanded considerably here, and glockenspiel, accordion, and clarinet augment the usual acoustic guitars and pianos. They are used particularly effectively on the lovely and pensive opening track "The Words We Say." But too often these songs take on the histrionic qualities that doom Dashboard Confessional albums and high school diaries alike. "We'll Never Leave Again" and "First of the Century" sink under the weight of lyrical and musical bombast, the hyperventilating choruses vying with the swelling guitars. There are moments of clear-eyed honesty, and even a bit of self-deprecating humor. "Take It to Manhattan" proclaims "I've had it up to here with all these songs of self-imposed unhappiness," and the delightful "Still Alone" adds "Another complaint/High maintenance complaint/Oh, shut up." Sadly, the band needs to take its own advice more frequently. ~ Andy Whitman, All Music Guide