NEGATIVE SPACE

“Storylines”

Lancaster, Pennsylvania product Negative Space has put their experience to the test with strong results in their delivery of “Storylines”, featuring 13 original tracks filled with plenty of catchy guitar-driven hooks and melodies laced with vast amounts of energy.

The band appears to be headed in the right direction, blessed with a musical maturity beyond their youthful years. Front man Josh Nice delivers an energetic effort from start to finish on “Storylines”, able to successfully shift gears from the opening, high-speed, melodic tracks “Diaries” and “Fairweather” to more subdued efforts of “Ashes” and “Falling”, which reveal a deeper side of the band. The disc’s first single, “Honestly”, aptly blends multiple messages of frustration and enthusiasm (lyrics like “it won’t protect me from all the fights I can’t win” and “just to think this could make me someone that fails you is something that scares me” tell the story best). Overall, “Storylines” flows with personality changes lyrically, incorporating a vast array of emotion and self-expression with the musical intent to appeal to both adult alternative and underground band followers alike, following the footpath of bands like Fuel, Jimmy Eat World, and Nine Days.

Negative Space offers an energetic effort balanced with the proper dosage of originality and familiarity. Nice (lead vocals), Chris Stum and Rick Lienhard (guitars), Mark Reinmiller (bass), and Justin Neighbour (drums) deliver a creative mix of infectious, guitar-based songs that stand up to the top shelf inventory of new musical talent. “Storyline” offers original songs that are edgy without the darkness, offering a distinct sound destined to attract larger legions of audiences down the road.

Negative Space will be performing two free shows in the area. On Saturday, December 6th, the band will play an in-store acoustic performance at Border’s Book Store in Waterford at 5:00pm, and then play Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den for a 21+ show later that evening, hitting the stage at 10:00pm. Check this band out of you have the opportunity; it may cost you plenty more to see them in the future should they continue to deliver efforts at this level.

- Don Sikorski

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