I think a lot of PT-ers will really enjoy Standard of Living. They’re a very sweet little band that base all their songs around a strong vocal and a lush little piano. They remind me a little of early Copeland in the way they write nice little harmonies and vocal melodies. ‘Wilson’ is very stripped down and sounds fantastic for it and is the best song, for me, by a stretch. That’s not to say the rest of this EP is bad, it’s just I feel they tend to stroll into ‘been there, done that’ territory with the likes of ‘Without You’ which have a Jack’s Mannequin vibe. And I know a lot of people will be reading this going ‘I have to hear this band!’ simply because of the JM comparison.
My only issue is that I feel like I heard this record a few years ago. It’s good for what it is, but doesn’t cover any new ground at all. I checked out the band’s myspace where there are other (probably older) songs and they give me the same feeling – all good little songs, but could easily have been cut from a Copeland album a few years ago. And personally that’s a sound I’ve moved on from a bit. I think about five or six years ago I;d have loved this EP. I still think it’s pretty good. It’s just my own musical tastes have moved on a bit and so I can’t see myself giving this much more of a spin. But I know a lot – and I mean a lot – of kids will love this band. The potential’s there for them to blow up much, much bigger.