New CD currently on release in Japan, UK Version Spring 2010
When I received an email from Vince at Studs and Punks asking me to cast an ear over some tracks by One Man Stand that will, with a couple of additions and one omission, be released in the UK some time soon, I naturally jumped at the opportunity.
I know this a band close to Vince’s heart; Andy at Humdrum Punk seems to rate the band and even that hackneyed old codger FungalPunk, who has seen them play a couple of times (over 30!), has penned a kind word or two about them, so it was time to find out what I have been missing!
Rather than find out everything there is to know about a band I have heard nothing of before embarking on a review like this I have found it best to let the music do the talking initially that way I can ensure I am judging the music on its merits alone.
First impressions are important, so those more learned than I would have you believe anyway, and it’s obviously something One Man Stand are aware of too!
From the first note of the gorgeously grungy bass riff on the opening track BREAK DOWN THE WALLS my full attention was well and truly grabbed! The simple but powerful drums knits perfectly with the grinding bass, add to this the uncomplicated guitar and a vocal laced with just enough piquancy to give it a kick and you have a very taste opener. I also particularly liked the fact that the tempo was not quite as frantic as the underlining urgency in the vocal delivery has you believe.
78 is next up telling the tale of the discovery of punk. “This sound is dynamite” and “This is the soundtrack to the story of my life”, a couple of lines from the song, hinting strongly toward the autobiographical nature of this track. Similar in tempo to the opening track and once more a simple yet highly effective mix of guitar, bass and drums are woven together to produce the back drop on which the lyric is embroidered.
Just Like Me – The intro, low frequency rumbling bass and almost muffled thudding ‘techno synth’ drum beat, reverberates for a few seconds; giving you just enough time to wonder whether is this one going. The vocal arrives with its melancholic undertones and then like passing through a tunnel you enter in to the light, in this case in the shape of some familiar bass, drum and guitar work. Then its back to the brooding bass and drum passage, before finishing out ‘in the open!’ A blend of ingredients that works and works superbly like sweet and sour; hot and cold; spice and fruit. Fantastic.
With Take Your Chances the band has us back in familiar territory. A nice dirty sounding bass riff underpinned by driving drum rhythms. Once more straight forward guitar adds power with its simplicity. The main vocal has just a touch of urgency and the backing vox add depth and colour to what is another great track on an album that is shaping up to be something a bit special.
Keep On Running opens with a single A minor (open) chord that has an echoic vibrato that has my musical taste buds salivating. How can five simple notes have a grown man so excited? That’s not my queue to embark on a long and pompous treatise on the Pavlovian connection between sound and its effect (be it involuntary or conditioned), but a serious question to which I hope some one can send me an answer! Moving on! Once more it’s the simple construct that catches the ear. I can imagine this being a fantastic live song with its chant-able chorus. Probably my favourite song of those I have available to review. Brilliant!
Surface To Air has an angry edginess that buzzes with energy. The angst ridden main vocal and the harmonic backing really lift the song which again has a great blend of bass, drum and guitar at its foundation producing a high voltage tempo. Then we seem to enter a musical cul-de-sac as we arrive at the bridge, all low thumping bass work and distant baritone ‘voice over’ in slight echo before finding its way back out on to the main road, as it were. I love the song just not sure if this switch of style adds or detracts, but this my personal opinion. You will and should have your own thoughts about this.
Little Red Riding Could – staccato guitar, rumbling bass line, urgent drums lead in to an angry swarm of over-layed guitars is what launches this far from fairytale-esque fable. Delivered with real energy, drive and edge. The vocals possess a sense of warning which work well on top of the machine gun like rhythm. I wasn’t quite able to make out all the lyrics, which is a shame as I do like to be able to hear the story a song tells. Hopefully there will be a lyric sheet with the actual release? All that said my favourite song of the lot!
Fetch The Noose – Coming in at 1 minute and 41 seconds the shortest song on the CD and a real pocket rocket of a tune! A simple fast strummed chord acts as the countdown to lift off which is announced by an eruption of guitar, bass and drums. The song has real ‘pedal to the metal’ tempo and gets from A to B by the shortest and most direct route. Short, but oh so sweet, a real little gem.
And bringing things to a close (on the version I was given to review, as I think the final release may differ slightly) Acoustic Hole (an acoustic version of Black Hole which can be found on their myspace page). I must have listened to this track about a dozen or more times and I am sure I hear something I didn’t hear the time before. What is basically a vocal + acoustic guitar track has lots of layers. There is an electric guitar picking out a melody which has nice clean sound with a touch of echo and a bit of reverb thrown in for good measure, then there is the tambourine that you can just catch every now and then, but it is the keyboard adding a very haunting and melancholic vibe that are the icing, decoration and cherry on top all rolled in to one. I can’t quite work out if it’s an accordion or one of those old Harmoniums, whatever it is, what a brilliant touch.
So there you have it. My first experience of band that are highly regarded by people that know what they are talking about. I can see what all the fuss is about. A band that is not shackled by what some believe punk should sound like. They are not afraid to push the envelope in the pursuit of a good song. However, no one can deny that true punk ethic flows through the veins.
One Man Stand are: Ant – Guitar & Vox Chris – Bass & B/Vox Jan – Drums
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