Martin Welham was part of the influential 1960's acid folk trio Forest. In the early 2000s, thirty years after Forest disbanded, he formed Somerset based band The Story with his son Tom and returned to recording music. The duo's sound has echoes of Martin's earlier work with authentic psychedelic songwriting at its core. The band's first release was a 2005 vinyl split album, The Dawn Is Crowned, with Californian freak folk band Whysp on Good Village Records. The Story's side features five broadly acoustic tracks that blend esoteric, dark imagery with powerful vocal harmonies resulting in an un-attributable psychedelic air. In 2006 the band released their first full-length album Tale Spin on Sunbeam Records - the first contemporary artists released by the label. This psychedelic folk album features acoustic guitars, keyboards and light percussion combined with airy harmony vocals and wistful melodies. Follow-up album Arcane Rising was released in 2007. A stream of consciousness conceptual song cycle, the album is made up of improvised melodies and acoustic guitar backings augmented by flutes, melody harp, harmonica and hand percussion. Lyrically the album celebrates life and nature through the changing seasons whilst questioning religious doctrines and humankind's ecological footprint. Also in 2007, The Story's sinister track "The Wicker Man" featured on the dark folk compilation albumJohn Barleycorn Reborn on Cold Spring Records. The band's acclaimed third full-length album Joy Ride on Memory Lane was released in 2011 on Rainbow Quartz Records under the band name The Story UK. This confident, hook-laden psychedelic album has a rockier sound than previous releases whilst continuing to incorporate the duo's warm harmonies and highly melodic aesthetic. Cold Spring Records 2011 dark folk compilation album John Barleycorn Reborn: Rebirth included The Story's ritualistic celebration piece "All Hallow's Eve". 2018 saw the release of psychedelic folk rock release The Dawn is Crowned with Opium Tears which brought together the first ever digital release of their 2005 vinyl lp, alongside 5 esoteric, darkly oblique, progressive psychedelic rock songs.
Discography
Split album
''The Dawn Is Crowned''
Studio albums
''Tale Spin''
''Arcane Rising''
''Joy Ride on Memory Lane''
''The Dawn is Crowned with Opium Tears''
Reception
''The Dawn Is Crowned''
The Story's contribution to the split vinyl LP The Dawn Is Crowned was described by Doug Mosurak of Dusted Magazine as "panoptic in scope and fairly timeless, interjecting frills and fantasy elements into solid, warm musicianship". While UnbrokenCircle's Mark Coyle described the song "Road To Ascension" as "a masterpiece of any era" and the vocal harmonies as "incredible with an un-attributable psychedelic air".
''Tale Spin''
Jeff Penczak of Foxy Digitalis Magazine described Tale Spin as "a whistful collection of melodic folk pop full of gorgeous harmonies" while PsychedelicFolk.com's Gerald Van Waes noted the "warm, delicate beautiful harmony vocals, simple guitars and percussion" making it "a beautiful album and another winner for true and truthful acid folk collectors."
''Joy Ride on Memory Lane''
Joy Ride on Memory Lane has received positive reviews. PopMatters' Stephen Haag described the album as "Utterly Charming" and noted that the duo "definitely have near-encyclopedic knowledge of the Britfolk/psych genre". Shindig! Magazine's Pat Curran described the songs as "highly melodic, warm and inviting" and commented that the album "bears repeated listening and comes highly recommended." Uncut Magazine's Rob Young said the father and son "make a hugely sympathetic pairing" and that the album "combines the best elements of Brit folk-rock's heyday".
In 2011, Martin and Tom began performing as part of the folk trio The TimeLarks and appeared at the 2012 International Pop Overthrow festival in Liverpool's Cavern Club. In 2016 they released two progressive acoustic folk albumsWheel of Stone and Grain of Light.
