The group started its musical career with their debut EP Just Say Yes, released in 2008, where "Eyes Closed" stands out as the most popular song with more than four million views on YouTube.

At one point, we had put together a list of random band names, mostly from literary terms, poems, or song lyrics we liked and sent them around to our friends.

[9] The Narrative spent the next couple years (2007–08) on Zeldin's cramped Upper West Side apartment writing songs to their first EP entitled Just Say Yes.

"[5] The EP was produced by Bryan Russell, who gave to the group a directional help on developing its sounds, influenced by bands as Death Cab for Cutie and Jimmy Eat World.

Since its release, the band received two large promotions, when Myspace Canada featured the full EP for streaming on the website's front page.

Through the years and late 2011–2012, songs from Just Say Yes were featured on episodes of MTV's reality TV shows: Real World: Brooklyn and Real World: Cancun, Jersey Shore,[10] Savage U,[11] TV shows on MTV2, MTV's Canada Peak Season as well on VH-1, Nickelodeon's TeenNick series Gigantic,[12] National Geographic and Starz.

[14] On May 1, 2009, the band announced via Facebook that they would have a short tour with Destry to support the EP, in June staying within northeastern America.

The band recorded the self-titled with the same producer of their debut EP, Bryan Russell on his studio Red Wire Audio in New York.

[29] On June 1, 2011, they appeared live on Fox 5 San Diego, while touring with Eisley, featuring a small interview and also performing the acoustic version of "You Will Be Mine".

[27] The Narrative's song "Fade" was featured in the soundtrack of the film produced by Bob Fugger, The Chateau Meroux, released in 2012.

[37][38] The album was produced by Bryan Russell and Justin Long and recorded in an English cathedral barn, built in 1900, in Upstate New York.

[50] In 2013, Suzie Zeldin joined the folk/Americana project Twin Forks created by Chris Carrabba when he was recording the solo album Covered in the Flood.

[51] The group first formation consisted in Chris Carrabba, Suzie Zeldin, Jonathan Clark and Ben Homola from Bad Books.

[53] While Suzie went on tour with Twin Forks, Jesse recorded in the beginning of 2014 a solo project with Bryan Russell titled Here, Sit, Stay, released on October 22, through digital download.

[41][54] On January 27, 2014, the band re-issued the EP Just Say Yes through VIDA Records and (주)프로시마뮤직엔터테인먼트 (Prossima Music Entertainment Co., LTD) in South Korea.

[55] On February 15, 2014, it was announced that the lead single from Golden Silence, titled "Chasing a Feeling", would be released online on June 3, 2014.

The Narrative has expressed appreciation for Death Cab for Cutie,[68] Brand New, the Academy Is..., Counting Crows, Destry as the indie/folk of Bon Iver.

On their first EP release, the band used samples from Death Cab for Cutie's "Company Calls" on their song "The Moment That It Stops".

For their second album release, the band explored the synthpop and the contemporary pop music, utilizing mixing synthesizers, ambient elements, and orchestral instruments.

[71] They also supported the act "Imagine If There Was No Cancer" of Keep A Breast on Vans Warped Tour (celebrating 10 years of the association) in 2011, performing acoustics songs in the event.

[2] After briefly attempting to pick up the piano, violin and tenor sax, Jesse finally learned guitar and fell in love with it.

"My grandma would teach me to sing Russian folk songs and then record them on a tape player, but didn't really start focusing on it in any serious way until I got to college.

Former members Touring musicians Evan C. Jones from Alternative Press wrote, "The Narrative is a bit lengthy (eight tracks are more than four minutes long), and the craftsmanship the trio took into creating the album is evident.

"[83] Tris McCall of the Newark Star-Ledger wrote, "The Narrative joins a wave of young, independent bands that recently have reaffirmed their commitment to the album concept, lavishing attention on sequencing, packaging, cover art, typesetting and, in some cases, old-fashioned storytelling..." and "The Narrative is the rare modern rock album that feels like a dialogue between equals – young songwriters struggling with romantic longing and interpersonal dissolution.

If you like Lydia, Death Cab for Cutie, or old Straylight Run, head to the band's AP.net profile to check out all the goodness.

The charming duel vocals of Jesse Gabriel and Suzie Zeldin on Just Say Yes are some of the best you'll ever find on an introductory EP, and the music is alluring in its own right.

Their self-titled album is an incredibly strong debut, laced with an abundance of wonderful songs, and a few slight, forgivable, missteps.

"[89] On Flavorpill, Andrew Phillips wrote: "Sure, they sound like wayward members of the Ben Gibbard brigade, but NYC indie-poppers The Narrative add an inspired pair of female pipes to the jangly emoisms of Photo Album-era Death Cab for Cutie.

While their homage is strikingly similar — enough so that some may consider them a carbon copy — The Narrative's embrace of the former Barsuk band is so well wrought that, at times, they really do rival the original.