The late John Peel once said: “A band is only as good as its drummer.” In that case This Is a Standoff must be a very good band. The first thing you notice about ‘Be Disappointed’, the follow-up to 2007’s ‘Be Excited’, is the thunderously rapid drumming of ex-Belvedere man Graham Churchill. Maybe it’s a little high in the mix or maybe it’s just the fact that the Canadian sticksman crushes that kick-pedal at such a rate it’s impossible not to notice. Either way it’s an onslaught that carries this record on its back.
This Is a Standoff specialises in melodic punk rock. Last year the band made its debut tour of the UK with Failsafe, a band that proves to be a good yardstick for the Canadian quartet. Strip down some of technical side of Failsafe, filter the heavier screaming and you’re somewhere close to This Is a Standoff. Moments of ‘Be Disappointed’ reflect the new Propagandhi record (check out ‘Can’t Take Them All’) whilst others are similar to that Pennywise So-Cal sound (‘This Song Is Recycled’). There’s even the odd pop-sounding chorus bunged in there for good measure (‘Five More Minutes‘).
Clocking 13 songs at just under 34 minutes should give you an idea of how quick and efficient this is as a record. It’s all short, sharp stabs of melodic driven guitars and that machine-gun drumming. Add to this some truly crisp and clean vocals and you’ve got a solid half-hour of tunes.
A quick sweep of the internet suggests that this is a self-funded and near self-released offering. Recorded in Calgary before being mixed in Italy, the band has obviously put together an album it wants to release wherever and whenever it can. A string of record labels are being utilised to put this out across the world, so, although there doesn’t appear to be a UK label directly, this should be available with a little digging around. It’s certainly worth a root around anyway.
Alex