Under Soil and Dirt
| Under Soil and Dirt | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by The Story So Far | ||||
| Released | June 21, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | Spring 2011 | |||
| Studio | The Panda Studios | |||
| Genre | Pop punk | |||
| Length | 32:12 | |||
| Label | Pure Noise | |||
| Producer | Sam Pura | |||
| The Story So Far chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | 8.1/10 |
| Alternative Press |    |
| Alter the Press! | 5/5 |
Under Soil and Dirt is the debut studio album by American rock band The Story So Far. Prior to the album's release several songs were made available for streaming.
The Story So Far formed in Walnut Creek, California in 2007. The band consisted of Parker Cannon on vocals, Kevin Geyer and Kevin Ambrose on guitar, Ryan Torf on drums, and Kelen Capener on bass. Ambrose parted ways with the band when he went to college in 2008 and he was replaced by William Levy. In March 2010 it was announced the band had signed to Pure Noise. Two months later the band released an EP, While You Were Sleeping (2010). The band supported This Time Next Year in November. The band went on tour with The American Scene in January 2011.
Throughout the writing and recording process the band listened to Transit's Keep This to Yourself (2010). All of the band members "loved [Keep This to Yourself] and thought it was next level", according to Capener. The band thought that the "14 awesome, solid" songs were "fucking badass" that they "want[ed] to do", according to Levy. Levy and Geyer would listen to Elliott Smith, The Weakerthans, Wilco, Mother of Mercy, and Black Breath while driving. Levy described Under Soil and Dirt as "Pop-Punk, with lyrics about Girls and growing up; grooviness, lot of energy." Capener said the album isn't "really in your face, but at the same time, it is. It's an honest record, it packs a punch". Levy found it difficult to write material since Capener lived an hour away and Cannon living six hours away. At the time, Capener had a job and was in college.
The members shared what they had written with each other online. One weekend the band did pre-production where they "basically had the framework of each song ready to go" when they were set to go into the studio. The album was recorded at The Panda Studios, in spring 2011, with Sam Pura producing. The band considers Pura a sixth member of the band. If Pura disliked a section of a song the band would listen to Pura. "Mt. Diablo" was re-recorded, the original version can be found a split with Maker. Cannon revealed that the album was recorded while the members were high. Cannon reasoned that this method "makes us look at ourselves from an outside perspective and not be assholes." Cannon did not "record one vocal sober".
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