The Stands - Horse Fabulous

Review by Sean Lynch

In the spirit of music, I feel that it's time that we honoured not simply those who sit on the top of the charts. Not simply those who have the multi-million dollar marketing campaign taking them all the way to the Grammy's. I felt it's time we address the unsung heroes of music - the artists whose albums fall through the cracks despite their quality.

The Stands are one such band that fell through the proverbial musical cracks amid critical acclaim, two fantastic albums and devastating record label struggles. 

After a much reported record company bidding war in the early naughties, The Stands joined Echo records in the spring of 2003 and began recording their debut album "All Years Leaving" at Noel Gallagher's Wheeler End Studio (Gallagher ended up playing on the record). 

"Horse Fabulous" was released on Monday, 24 July, 2005, however a strange twist of fate took place however when, just one week after the record was released, The Echo label ran into trouble, which ultimately led to "Horse Fabulous" (one of the most widely anticipated and critically acclaimed albums of 2005) being left adrift and virtually unobtainable after the first few days of it's release, despite great demand. The Stands soon disbanded due to stress and have since gone their separate ways.

In their wake, they have left a gem of an album in "Horse Fabulous". From the opening track Turn The World Around which is rich in melody and musical layering to the utterly sublime instrumental piece Mountains Blue And The World Through My Window there is very little to not like about this Liverpoolian bands soft more effort.

While there are some noticeable flat spots, largely Back To You and Do It Like You Like, there are more than enough up-tempo ditties with a 60's (granted, this is a much more modern sounding LP than it's predecessor) edge to keep you bopping in the car for a good half an hour, in particular the near perfect Soon Come - which display lead singer Howie Paynes skill for a blues tune - and the epic When The Night Falls In.

There are quieter moments here that work wonderfully as well, with the closer You Said a perfect ending to an extremely enjoyable musical journey.

This is a near impossible album to find on shelves these days - but it's definitely worth chasing up if your a fan of some great English rock tunes. There's one word for it really: Ebay.

RATING: 4 out of 5