Rock act Straylight Run battles being labeled

The band is indie rock, but still covers a lot of ground.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Across the board, most artists hate being pigeonholed; however, nothing could be worse than being compared to the wrong band. If you like Guns N' Roses, you'll love No Doubt. So you dig Coheed and Cambria, be sure to check out Christina Aguilera's newest album.
While such talk among established acts is funny, for an obscure, up-and-coming band, the wrong comparison is a nightmare. Welcome to the world of Long Island-based rock act Straylight Run and particularly its guitarist-singer John Nolan, who was an early member of emo act Taking Back Sunday.
"At the beginning of [Straylight Run], it helped us just because as soon as we were starting, a lot of people were interested in finding out what we sounded like," said Nolan, calling from outside of Austin, Texas. "At this point, the only thing that is hard is it kind of gives people who haven't really looked and listened to the band an impression of what we must be like or what kind of band we must be."
He added, "I think maybe that some people who haven't really taken the time to actually listen to it, sometimes people might write us off as another screamy band or something."
Influences
The reality is Straylight Fun falls under an indie rock umbrella. Nolan cites Wilco, The Flaming Lips and The Beatles as influences, but this quartet, which includes Nolan's sister Michelle on keyboards and vocals, rarely sounds like any of the aforementioned. In fact, its 2004 self-titled album covers much ground with the band just as apt to rock out as to delve into quiet piano-heavy songs or upbeat guitar-centered pop tunes.
Even though the group's debut effort created a nice word-of-mouth buzz, Nolan was itching to record a follow-up album that actually sounded like his group.
"I think the main thing that we were unhappy with on the first record is that it came off as sort of lifeless," Nolan said. "It sounded very much like a studio project that was really produced, compressed and edited and cleaned to the point where it didn't sound real anymore. I didn't feel like it represented the feeling of the band playing those songs. Even at the time the album was recorded, I think if you would have heard the band play those songs live, you'd get a very different impression of what the band sounded like."
Major label
Despite any shortcomings, Nolan pointed out the album did get the band signed to its first major label, Universal Republic. Today, he said he's feeling vindicated with the recent recording of Straylight Run's sophomore effort "The Needle The Space," which is due out June 19 and features more of a natural sound without many overdubs.
Already the band is playing a few new songs -- the acoustic guitar-driven "The Words We Say" and the slightly experimental "How Do I Fix My Head?" -- on its current tour, which hits Cleveland on Monday at Peabody's DownUnder. The outfit will also be on this summer's Vans Warped Tour. While it feels like a new beginning for the members of Straylight Run, familiar concerns remain.
"The main fear is whether people will respond to it," Nolan said. "But we're confident people will like the album. We're not going to be worried."
At the very least, Nolan is content knowing Straylight Run finally sounds like Straylight Run.