A lot can happen in three years, and for The Story So Far, a whole lot did. After the release of their third, self-titled album in 2015, the band’s routine writing, recording, and touring had caught up with them. “We were so burnt from touring, and playing the same songs over and over again,” says Parker Cannon, the band’s vocalist and lyricist, “We knew we had to take a step back and collect ourselves.” By taking that time to recharge, The Story So Far were able to look at themselves with fresh eyes and newfound creative ambitions, returning with their most cohesive and confident record to date.

Originally release in 2018 on Pure Noise Records, Proper Dose shows just how much The Story So Far have grown as both people and musicians. They take bold creative leaps, finally making the record that they’d always wanted to. “This one, all the way through, I just think it’s leaps and bounds ahead of anything we’ve ever done,” says Cannon.

As is the case with every The Story So Far album, guitarist Kevin Geyer and drummer Ryan Torf shepherded the creative direction. “We didn’t really have a deadline,” says Geyer, “And the biggest enabler of us getting the record to where we wanted it was having time to work on it.” Over the course of a full year, Geyer and Torf shaped the songs that would become the backbone of Proper Dose, often starting them on instruments like the wurlitzer or synthesizer before bringing them to the rest of the band.