The Story So Far has been contributing to the world wide pop-punk scene since 2007. In the band’s four-album career, each successive release has pushed the band into a slightly more mature territory. The same, here, is true with, 2018’s Proper Dose, and while that has evidently been a let down to part of the bands fan-base, the band has soldiered on to release one of the best records of their career.

Proper Dose incorporates some of the contemporary grunge rock influences that are presently popular, as well as adding a few more slow, ballad style songs than on previous releases. At the record’s base, the same fast paced and catchy pop punk still exists, and serves as a framework for the rest of the album to work from. The new songs are well put together and are top contenders for some of the best work the band has created to date.

The production value is polished and deliberate. At times the overly layered vocal melodies could be changed up with some hard hitting and organic yelling, but at no point do they sound bad. The album is played competently and continues the band’s pattern of putting out catchy and memorable songs. The biggest bonus present with Proper Dose is the depth of the songs themselves; the band has done a good job of writing memorable songs over pushing straight up sing along and mosh pit value.

Proper Dose is far from a perfect release, but it is a solid one. The album feels fresh and keeps the listener entertained throughout. There will be dissenters from the band’s original fan base, but that is always the case with progress, musical or otherwise. Does Proper Dose sound like a re-creation of 2011’s Under Dirt and Soil? The answer is a solid no, but how can you expect a band to move forward if they are consistently rehashing the past. Fans sometimes place a band into “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” territory and that seems to be the case here.

If you enjoy Proper Dose for what it is, it shines. If you want a rehashed pop-punk record from 2011, perhaps it’s time to look elsewhere.