"I have caused some pain / Just to make myself feel better. / I created heartache down to the letter. / And if you are still O.K. with me / I suppose I can let you take a swing for free." - Let Love Lead
The Standouts
The Standouts come out of San Marcos/Austin with a sound that I have heard few attempt. Their sound is a combination Roy Orbison-meets-Jellyfish-meets-Jason Mraz. It forms a southern rock with a twist of 70s doo-wop groove and it comes together really good and on their debut self-titled six-song EP.
The fun “Let Love Lead” kicks things off and gets your toes tapping straight away. “Your Love Carries Me” gives a modern twist to a Grease-esque love song. The feel good jam “Good Thing Goin’ On” follows. Then, if you’ve ever taken a “hindsight is 20/20” trip into a past relationship, “Rewrite” will speak to you.
Coming off like a heartfelt gospel tune, “I Will Be There” is probably my favorite on the release. It’s got a sweet sax solo to lend to the vibe too. “I will be there / whenever you call me. I will be there / whenever you need. Yes, I will be.”
The album ends nicely with the funky lyrical head trip of “What It Does To You.”
The last local band that I heard that had this kind of groove was This Life Electric who kind of disappeared from my radar sometime in 2008. Let’s hope The Standouts don’t disappear because based off this EP, I hope they have a long future.
The band is made up of Andrew Howard (vocals/guitar), Junior Scott (vocals/bass), Johnny Ballistic (drums), Philip Prasek (vocals/guitar), Noel "Doc" Vickers (saxophone), David "Rudeboy" Bowman (trombone)
The band is made up of Andrew Howard (vocals/guitar), Junior Scott (vocals/bass), Johnny Ballistic (drums), Philip Prasek (vocals/guitar), Noel "Doc" Vickers (saxophone), David "Rudeboy" Bowman (trombone)
They’ve got a weekly Tuesday night residency at Cedar Street Courtyard through June so if this review has you wanting to check them out live, head there at 9p. If you’d like to learn more about them, visit their MySpace page. Oh.. and those who are unfamiliar with The Standouts may be familiar with their previous moniker "Rockus Circus."
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