Review: The Stand

The Stand - Inside Your Mind (Independent)
The Stand call the Derbyshire town of Buxton home, but they’re making their musical bones all over the north of England, playing shows in Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield, and taking a bus-load of fans with them wherever they go. Musically they fall somewhere between Oasis, Kasabian, Primal Scream and Arctic Monkeys, which means you get big tunes with ample, snotty rock ‘n’ roll attitude. Singer (and guitarist) Ged Potts possesses a fine sniping vocal which suits the material to a tee, and the rest of the band, guitarist Charlie Willcox, bass man Mark Whibberly and drummer Jon Stone, are fully aware of both the contemporary Britpop and rock sound, and the tradition from where it springs - they provide the perfect backing.

Every other track on the record sounds like a single - BBC6Music and nighttime Radio 1 should be having a field day. Opening with the actual single, “Raise a Flag”, its wiry guitar line and distorted vocal gets it message across. “Get Your Shit Together” is almost too obvious by comparison, but I bet it’s a big live number. “Something” might me perfect – what a great tune and a lyric that hits the subconscious after just a single listen – and “Getaway” wouldn’t have sounded out of place on one of those great mod compilations from the late ‘70s / early ‘80s. They need to get this to radio as soon as they can.
http://www.facebook.com/thestandbuxton
Simon M.