Standards – Fruit Island (2020)

Ah, Standards. One of those very rare and inspiring instances where we’ve watched a band from a mere concept to the highest ranks of math rock. Where the whole path has happened in our blog’s lifetime.

The rapid rise of Marcos Mena’s keystone project is absolutely justified. Marcos’ technical prowess on the strings is matched by the originality of the ways he has delivered his content to the world (need I mention the glorious ‘wall of life’ at Arctangent, or the equally memorable ‘Hello Kitty’ videos)? It was only a matter of time before connoisseurs-of-cool Topshelf Records scooped him up and tucked him lovingly under their wing.

Standard’s label debut Fruit Island does everything the packet says. The colorful, noodly aesthetic of contemporary math rock is on full display here, from the jiggy and joyful ‘Nap’, to the poppy and idyllic ‘May’, to the rollicking and reverberating ‘Val Verde’. The percussion is crisp, the riffs are memorable and, as always, there’s fruit galore.

Fruit Island offers the sugary goodness of the foods that adorn its track list. It’s an album that will have you thinking ‘how nice is it to be alive, I might go drink a smoothie and friend request a shark’. Exactly what we need during this global influenza caper.