Jared & The Mill: This Story Is No Longer Available

Raffaela Kenny-Cincotta on February 21, 2019
Jared & The Mill: This Story Is No Longer Available

Jared & The Mill hail from the deserts of Arizona, and deal in glossy, pop-leaning rock. In their own words, the five-piece outlet plays “Western indie-rock,” and their new LP This Story Is No Longer Available clocks in at a somewhat-lengthy 17 tracks. Their sound is reminiscent of the emotionally charged, festival-ready songwriting you hear from bands like Moon Taxi, Mumford & Sons and Highly Suspect. Tunes like “Hope” and “Feels Like” are brimming with stadium-rock energy, and you can visualize the sea of cellphone lights being waved in the air as frontman Jared Kolesar belts out his lyrics. (“Feels Like,” in particular, contains a psych-rock breakdown that is undeniably influenced by Pink Floyd’s endless plunges into oblivion.) “Dark Highways” is another highlight. The mid-album number is an anthemic examination of the touring lifestyle, and finds Kolesar balancing devotion to a loved one with the urge to “keep on moving.” Audio clips peppered throughout the LP also move the narrative forward; “Jared & The Mill Sucks” features a begrudged friend or fan griping about some missing peanut butter. Album closer “Books” is strategically placed on the tail end of This Story Is No Longer Available . Over seven-plus minutes, after banjo riffs and acoustic guitar chords emerge from ethereal noise, Kolesar bears his soul once more. Allowing the peaks and valleys of the song to wash over you, it feels like you’re on a late-night drive, and only your headlights can cut through the dark, desert landscape. Undoubtedly, it’s a feeling these hard-touring, Southwestern rockers know quite well.