Emotion loaded, basic rock driven, melody overflowin' powerful rock with lotsa pop flavour - Crowded House on steroids.

10 MP3 Songs
POP: Power Pop, ROCK: Classic Rock



Details:
What are STAN? Well, although theyâre a rock band in the best classic sense, there arenât really ready comparisons. The adjective ârawâ conjures up some of the power and excitement of their sound but fails to convey the tight musicianship. âBallsâ should definitely be in there somewhere but so also should âmelodicâ and virtually every one of their numbers will be burning its way inside your subconscious after a couple of listens. I overheard someone describe them as âCrowded House on Steroidsâ and that gets close, but doesnât do them full justice. Theyâre way more interesting than that.

When the set kicks off with âShoutâ, the tone is set for the rest of the night. Itâs not their most sophisticated number but no-one with vital functions can fail to be stirred by itâs relentless energy and power and the irresistible punching chant of its chorus.

I donât remember the title of every number but thereâs not a duff one among them. The style varies from powerful ballad through rock anthem to flat-out, shaken ânâ stirred, volume 11 hammerblow. âHey Youâ is such a song, but even that retains the bandâs melodic signature.

Then thereâs the stunning âI Just Canât Take Itâ, where Portishead (minus the little twat that makes the scratchy sound with the turntable) meets late-60s Peter Green, a beautiful brooding number, latent power just straining to get out before finally being given its head. Not so much power-pop as power-soul.

An adjective I forgot about was âbalanceâ. Although each member is individually superb- the singer with voice smelted from velvet and steel, the soulful but understated lead guitar, the thumping, resonating and deadly accurate bass, the driving powerhouse drums- there are no overt displays of virtuosity, the sound is always in equilibrium. And the harmonies sound great too.

STAN, like all the great rock bands, have perfected the trick of sounding tuneful without being heavy-handed and leaden. If the right person ever gets to hear them, youâll wish youâd taken the opportunity of seeing them when you still could.

Mark Hughes

ââ¦STAN know the insides of a good tune when they see one. A classic four-piece theyâre not content to just trundle out any old nonsense and dress it up with over enthusiastic playing. No, they allow these songs to breathe and run their natural course without any unnecessary window dressing. Opener, âYou Gotta Believeâ sets a stompinâ pace and is swiftly followed by the fellow toe-tapper âOutta Hereâ. They show their more tender side in the beautiful ballad âBelieveâ, which is pared down to the bone, but the gently lilting melody is all it needs to make it a beautiful song. Other stand outs include âLiesâ which gets its foot to the floor and even chucks in a bit of harmonica and âMagicolaâ, a fittingly flag waving climax. Well worth seeking out.â

The Crack

STAN are currently recording new material for release in Summer 2007.