Fruit Island - Standards

Every once in a while a band comes along that defines or redefines a genre or community. We see this a lot with artist who craft a signature tone or personality through their records and individual songs. We've seen bands define age of cassettes, vinyl, and CDs...but I believe we're just now seeing a band take a passionate hold on the digital age. The age of Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube. This band, if you aren't aware, is Standards. I first came across standards some where midway through 2019 in one of a small handful of actually funny and talent filled math-rock groups on Facebook. "Both Parts of Never Meant played at the same time." was sweeping my Facebook feed, I quickly hopped on the hype and followed Marcos Mena (Standard's Guitarist) and became entangled in a personality and entity that would quickly become the face of the internet math-rock homies. Post after Post, Meme after Meme, the hype only grew. I took this hype to dive into Standard's first release, a Self Titled 4 track adventure into a sound and energy that would go on to set the bar for instrumental guitarist to dream of achieving. Without much detail, I would absolutely recommending taking a good listen to "kale and strawberries" and "shmoonie" off this release, I believe it's these two tracks where we see the voyage to Fruit Island set sail, and this is something that can only be understood with a dedicated listening. Fruit Island released August 28th of this year (2020) following a guitar cover submission of the albums 5th track, "May", which generated a fairly large following in the various instrumental guitarist communities. The record itself sits at 12 tracks and just about a 40 minute listen. Opening with the titular "Fruit Island", a dreamy welcome to what fantastic vibrancy is to come. "Nap" opens the door after our cozy and cuddly welcome, it's adventurous, bright, and in many ways the musical epitome of the phrase "Boy this sure is uplifting.". Fans of the band were openly blown away by the energy of Nap, many voting it their favorite / best song on the album and in a lot of ways I'd probably agree. I don't tend to pick favorites, but Nap is without a doubt one of the "hype" songs in the current age of Math-rock. The album trails on at a beautiful pace, joyfully slowing down for tracks like "Mango" to demonstrate Marcos's love and passion for composition and tone, delivering (in my opinion) the most beautifully composed instrumental guitar track of the year. It's nostalgic, warm and loving, and creates the friendly family vibes that Standards and their Fruitposting buddies spread. Mango and tracks like it carry a love that many people need in times like these, a peaceful anthem that's like a bright lighthouse guiding a rocky ship back to shore. We close on "What you Aren't", a cyclonic reminder of the energy and serenity we've endured from start to finish, a chaotic goodbye that sends the album off with the same powerful kick it launched off with. A lot of times I'll say things like "It ended to soon" or "I wish there was more"...and while those certainly apply to my thoughts towards Standards, I feel as if Fruit Island, as an individual entity seperate from the bands passionate followers and Marcos's outstandingly wholesome personality and internet presence, Fruit Island truly is a record that has defined Math Rock and Instrumental Rock moving into the 2020s. To echo back to our introduction...Standards is becoming the definitive band of the Instagram / Youtube age. Between Marcos's viral videos and the bands incredibly welcoming community as well as the band generally being one of the best sounding bands in their genre, there's really so much pushing Standards to be / continue to be at the front of this push into our current decade. Fruit Island is hands down my top pick album of 2020 and I don't think anything can or will top it. Standards put out one of the quintessential Math Rock records and they should absolutely continue to assert themselves as the band that will define the genre for future generations. Fruit Island is bright, it's beyond memorable, and it has set the bar. We suggest checking out all the cool links below, especially the links to Fruit Island and if you're interested Standards Self Titled...and like always, if you like what we do here and want to see more give us a like and share on Facebook. Standards Fruit Island Self Title Facebook Website Polaris DIY