The music biz can be a tough nut to crack.

Maybe that's the ethos behind a name like The Story So Far; the band is a work in progress, and always will be. Bassist Kelen Capener is driving around his hometown when I call him, not going anywhere in particular. The aimless meander has given him time to think; his unassuming California drawl relays observations more akin to memos scratched into notes on the fridge than actual epitaphs of thought.

"I'm actually sitting here now in my car in Walnut Creek. It's evolved a lot since I grew up here. It's just a nice neighbourhood, it's not a place where you worry about being out."

I ask if people would recognise him if he stopped the car and got out, to which Kelen laughs.

"That only happened to me for the first time the other day. I went to the store to pick up a few things and someone came up to me and was like, ‘Hey man, you're from The Story So Far’. That was kind of weird, I was just shopping for jalapeños.

“Then the other day we were visiting Kevin's girlfriend, she works in downtown Walnut Creek. She gave me this hot chocolate and I was joking, I was like , ‘Yo, what if I just poured this on this kid's head right here?’ Later that kid tweeted that he'd walked by me, so it's a good thing I didn't!"

If you're holding a copy of The Story So Far's latest LP between your claws you'll notice there’s a guy on the cover, and that he's in a bit of a predicament. The album's entitled ‘What You Don't See’ and, not quite ironically, giant, spike-ridden vines are growing out of his eyes.

"Jordan from New Found Glory came up with that interpretation. In the original sketch there was fire coming out of his eyes, but I don't know if that's what we were going for. But we just gave [Jordan] the creative liberty to do it, we didn't really have time to seek art from anyone else. He really did us a huge favour."

The Story So Far play Soundwave at RNA Showgrounds Saturday February 22. soundwavefestival.com