The Standard
August
Touch and Go
Tg236cd
http://www.thestandardsite.com/
Mmmmm…I don't know about you, but I love autumn. I love the feeling of seriousness it instills in everyone, and the way everything begins to change- whether it be the leaves on the trees or the way people dress, fall is a time of introspection and transformation before the still, ambient, cloak of winter drapes its chilly shroud over the landscape. Yeah, soupy and dramatic I know, but that's cause I've been listening to The Standard, a group who knows that dark, brooding vocals, and thick layers of harmonics spell out:
I N S T A N T F A N B A S E.
I mean my gosh! It works
for that chappie in Brighteyes, just as if worked for Ian Curtis, Morrissey,
and all the other songwriters and bands who exploit our tender sides by turning
our hearts to mush with their sorrowful warblings about disappointments, lost
tender moments- both by-products from that gladiator pit called Life. The
Standard is on Touch and Go, a label more famous for cranking out bands like
The Jesus Lizard, Big Black, and TAR- ensembles whose hearts are of pit-beef
and whisky and whose sounds are out to crush more than comfort. That's why
the Standard are such a pleasant surprise from the T&G label- they enable
one to get lost for a while without feeling too sappy or melodramatic. The
songs are well-striated pop constructions that whirl around the spectrum of
gloss and trauma equally well. Inside their music you will find frigid heartache,
gooey bliss, and a warm excitement that will keep you warm through all of
those nippy winter evenings we all secretly look forward to.
-John Southern