This Is A Standoff

Be Disappointed

Written by: PP on 09/05/2009 15:58:43

From the ashes of much loved but now defunct Canadian melodic hardcore / skate punk act Belvedere has risen a new competitor to the melodic / technical punk rock scene: This Is A Standoff. Vocalist/guitarist Steve Rawles and drummer Graham Churchill have teamed up with members from One Shot Left and Forty Cent Fix to form the new project that has already reached their sophomore album "Be Disappointed". Now, I haven't had a chance to hear their debut nor have I listened to more than just an album's worth of Belvedere in the past, so forgive me if this sounds inaccurate, but essentially "Be Disappointed" isn't that different from the Belvedere sound.

There are some changes, but they're mostly superficial and not something Belvedere couldn't have evolved to in the future. First off, the tempo has dropped slightly into a medium-high pace to allow Rawles/Meloche to pursue their love for immensely technical though still melodic fretwork. For that to work properly, the production has been amped up as well, and the band actually sounds like a professional venture instead of the underground act that Belvedere always was. Throw in Rawles' unmatchable clean vocal harmonies and you've got some damn catchy songs to play with here.

On more than one occasion This Is A Standoff has me thinking about a cleaner version of A Wilhelm Scream. The guitars follow roughly the same technical blueprint as them, but the production has left them slightly cleaner and less edgy, and of course the vocals aren't as aggressive either. That description combined with a fiery live show has left critics and fans alike calling This Is A Standoff the 'best kept secret' in the Canada punk scene. My opinion? "Be Disappointed" contains more than its fair share of unbelievable guitar work that makes each individual song sound solid overall, but over the course of 13 tracks it all sounds a little samey. That, however, does not make it bad by any means.

7

Download: The Light Is Still On In Broadmoor, Face The Sun
For the fans of: A Wilhelm Scream, Belvedere
Listen: Myspace

Release date 28.03.2009
Funtime Records

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