The guys from A Story Told have a lot to be thankful for this year.

Their first full-length, Keep Watch, gained over one million streams on Spotify and earned them a spot on Vans Warped Tour in 2016. Their second full-length, Good Looks, dropped earlier this year and has a strong theme – pure sarcasm.

“I think as a society, there is so much emphasis put on how you present yourself in this world and sometimes it’s not a perfect representation of what that is,” guitarist Josh Allen said. “I think all of us as band members were exhausted by this phenomenon that we really just wanted a source to get out our frustrations and I think this record is the product of that. It has a deeper meaning but we didn’t want to present it in a depressing way… The record itself is super sarcastic but in terms of the sound of the record I think it definitely grows from the last record.”

Other than the sarcasm, the theme of the album touches on the concept of ‘good looks aren’t everything’ and what that concept means to them. Coming from their last record where the theme was a more serious subject matter, they knew that this time around they didn’t want to be labeled as ‘the sad band’.  With a layer of irony poured over the lyrics, the album is able to show a sense of fun while still holding onto a more serious undertone.

Keep Watch really pushed their love for rock music – stripped down, basic instrumentals with a tough message. Good Looks gave them the opportunity to not only experiment in more electro-pop sounds but also gave them the opportunity to think outside the box and write songs differently than what they were used to. “We took a lot of time exploring this blend of rock music and pop music,” Allen said. “Obviously pop-rock is not a new [genre] but we just wanted to put our own spin on it and see if we could make something fresh.”

The opportunity to think outside the box really comes from the fans. The band never expected anywhere near the response they got from Keep Watch and were totally blown away by its reception. They didn’t have the support of a big label or a big management team; just five guys and a supportive musical community.

“We didn’t know how well it would do or how many ears it would reach and it ended up going very well,” Allen said. “The support of the last record was the motivation for this record; we took that motivation and ran with it.”

A Story Told took their loves of pop and rock music and built their dream from the ground up. With the motivation from a supportive music community, they’ve been able to make two successful albums and don’t plan to stop there. And for that, they are incredibly thankful.