3. American Standards
hardcore punk/mathcore/rock
A happy accident of social networking this one. Having gained a new follower on Twitter I dont have many, I cherish each one I had a nose, and found it was a band called American Standards, so I checked them out. For once, a pleasant surprise in such circumstances. The band are a four piece coming out of Pheonix, Arizona and havent been going all that long. Yet, last years album, Still Life, is a solid, albeit short, example of a really promising hardcore band with some really strong songs. The band toured extensively around America last year, and have been branching out internationally this year; having toured with the likes of Touche Amore and Sick Of It All, and hitting up festivals. Musically they wear influences proudly, influences like Norma Jean, Every Time I Die, Cancer Bats, and Glassjaw, that you can hear ringing through in their songs. However, there are moments where they change things up and veer their hardcore in different directions that really show the most promise; whether blasting fast, or dragging slow, as with
the albums title track which actually brings to mind Slipknot on Iowa, a little bit. http://youtu.be/cbgliRqV6rg