The
Standards – Sirens
DL
Out Now
Bangkok
based rockers The Standards release their new album as a free download.
The
Standards? No, me neither. But you will.
The
Standards are anything but as their name suggests. They make noises, big noises, the sort of
noises that musical instruments were made for.
In their own words “songs to dance to, songs to fight to, songs to fuck
to”. I’m not arguing.
The
Standards are a five piece based in Bangkok, four blokes and one gal. Their music is loud, yes, their music could
fill theatres the length and breadth of our fair nation too. They manically force themselves into the gap
between 80s pop, 90s Indie and the power of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and what a gorgeous
sound they make.
The
Standards can write a tune or two (well, nine on Sirens to be exact) too,
whether it be from the screaming opener Blood Will Rise beginning slowly and
soon erupting into a musical ear orgasm with sirens (of course) and echoes and
belting guitars and drums, or to the instant pop appeal of current single Where
You Go with sing-along strapline. You’d
think they’d been around for years such is the standard (sorry) of the stuff on
show here.
The Standards make songs capable of becoming anthems in
arenas. They’re huge in sound and bellow
out like nothing you have heard for ages.
Guitars rip and voices soar.
Drums pound and choruses flow with ease.
Keyboards weave in and out of thumping basslines. The title track being a prime example.
The Standards seem to have the knack adopting various styles
too. Take Politics with its punk/PiL
vocals and guitar work, or the sexy rhythm and blues emptiness of PPPeople
complete with soundbytes and spoken vocals.
The Standards? I have
now. I like them a lot, and you will
too, for they have given us one of the finest albums of 2013.
And, if that wasn’t enough, vocalist Matt Smith has lent his
vocals to a truly brilliant reworking of Peter Gabriel’s Don’t Give Up. The words are spoken over an apocalyptical
electronic background which paces itself beautifully whilst the words are
almost given new meaning. The vocals are
almost made for the track and I’m sure Mr Gabriel would approve wholeheartedly,
and like Sirens, it’s also free to download.
The Standards website where you can download Sirens for free here. You can follow them on Twitter
here and do Facebook things here.
Links
The Standards website
The Standards on Twitter
Published on Louder Than War 17/12/13 - here
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