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Kyoko Rathmell- Vocals and Guitar

LJ Oliver - Vocals and Guitar

Jonathan Bannister- Bass

Daniel Tollett- Drums

Morrissey
The Smiths
The Modus Vivendi
Dawn Chorus
Chi Champions
Interpol
David Bowie
Starsailor
Babyshambles
The Libertines
Editors
Lou Reed
Kate Bush
The Magic Numbers
The Pixies
The Upper Room
The Beatles
The Stone Roses
Radiohead
Johnny Marr
Dennis Brown
Wintergreen
Yeah Yeah Yeahs

When Stanislav went through their heat at the Blitz, they also had a Cd on offer which I immediately bought and checked out for a while. But this wasn’t just a bundle of a few recordings, this was a fully fledged Lp of 10 tracks and by the sounds of it, not one that has been rushed. I know I’ve thrown the Smiths label around quite a bit with this band, but it’s time to take a serious look at their reportoire after spending some good time listening to what is undoubtedly a fine piece of work.

Listening to the Cd over and over again, I began to pick out some favourite tracks but in a change to the usual kinds of tracks I pick out, I found myself enjoying the lighter tracks foremost, usually these kinds of songs are just mellow but in this case they became much more interesting with different layers, be it using strings in “Pins And Needles” or the featured horns and harmonies in “Stanislav”, there’s a fair amount to keep you interested, even without extra layers “The Wrong Boy” has a sound that you can’t dismiss too easily.

Don’t let the light sounds fool you though, the girls and guys are more than capable of delivering a good kick to their music and know how to work in some angst. “Hospital” and “Streets” sounding pretty disenchanted and lonely but not too depressing, while the exit track and a few other moments go for a much sharper sound to stir things up a little.

If you’re after some comparisons then there are also some sounds in there that are reminiscent of groups like Razorlight and The Libertines but all in all the band’s sound is neither eclipsed by influences or by genre, and if you can’t pigeon-hole a band to the latter then you know that they are on the right track. Stanislav are certainly no exception judging by this Lp.

On the whole it’s a nice reach into the alternative scene. Borderlining on “indie” but having a decent amount of rock in there without sounding too heavy or overdone, the term “garage rock” would also be close but still offer no cigar. In fact, I don’t think there’s many other bands who have the sound of Stanislav within the local area and though some of the influences seem obvious, the band apply them well and come up with something pretty fresh. With that, I’d say that it’s music that makes you think while you listen, something that you’ll never get tired of and it’s definitely worth checking out.

Craig Short, AMPjam.net

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