Wednesday 26 January 2011

Standard Fare/One Happy Island


Remember that Standard Fare,/One Happy Island record I mentioned the other day? Well that lovely, lovely slab of orange vinyl from Thee SPC has remained on my turntable since. The difference between this time and last is that I’ve been flipping it over, and over, and over.

I didn’t know until I received the record that each band have recorded one of the other band’s songs and one original. I was dead excited when I got this record, which is why it superceded the Defiance, Ohio album, and I was right to be excited. Each band’s cover is brilliant, they’ve both managed to make a cover sound as though it could be one of their own songs. Neither band try to ape the style or sound of the other band, so what we’ve got here is basically a great original-sounding song by each band, just that they didn’t happen to write them.

Standard Fare bash out another couple of their perfectly-crafted, slightly jerky power pop, and I’m always surprised that they manage to have such a big, full sound as a three-piece, how do they do that? The lyrics are the new one are great (as always) and the delivery is in Emma’s easily recognised, irresistible style.

The One Happy Island side gives us more of their chaotic, yet tuneful indiepop. I’ve always like how their songs sound almost as though they were recorded in the kitchen while there was a party going on in the living room (and I’m not just saying that because of ‘Secret Part That The Other Party Doesn’t Know About’), and that they sound like they might just fall apart at any second.

If you’ve any sympathy for indiepop in 2011, your life will certainly be enriched by this bloody great record.

One question, what the hell is a ‘dixie cup’?

3 comments:

  1. Oh, someone agrees with me!
    http://alayerofchips.blogspot.com/2011/01/standard-fare-on-one-happy-island.html

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  2. A Dixie cup is a brand of disposable paper cup.

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  3. Thanks, Anon. Brad (of One Happy Island) cleared that up for me. Apaprently there was a girl-band called The dixie Cups, too. So now we know.

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