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The Slow Bark

by Stander

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  • Cassette + Digital Album

    Cassette with imprinted artwork and full artworked 3-panel J-card. Cassettes come in goldenrod color shells with clear Norelco box. Manufactured by National Audio Company

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Slow Bark via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      $9 USD or more 

     

  • T-Shirt/Apparel + Digital Album

    Two different color shirts, same great print. Design by Caleb Phillip. We may have XS for either, so if you want, shoot us a message or email standermusic@gmail.com.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Slow Bark via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

1.
Cold Fingers 08:35
2.
Cicada Tree 05:53
3.
Seven Death 03:46
4.
5.
6.
7.

about

Stander is a band defined by their bold approach to making music as mercurial as it is cathartic. The trio of guitarist Mike Boyd, bassist Derek Shlepr, and drummer Stephen Waller draw from disparate influences to marshal bombast with off-kilter grooves, otherworldly effects and flashes of elegant melody. Rooted in both heavy music and Chicago’s flourishing experimental and improvisational community, Stander infuse nuance into emotionally potent pieces as gripping as they are affecting. With their debut release The Slow Bark, Stander transpose introspection, resentment and crippling self-doubt into music that is singular, stirring and dauntless.

Capturing the essence of indescribable feelings from the mundane to the profound is central to Stander’s music. The largely instrumental pieces throughout The Slow Bark illustrate their unique ability to compose dynamic narratives which embody those ineffable emotions. “Cold Fingers” serves as a cogent metaphor for losing control by juxtaposing unexpected shifts in tone from Latin-inflected syncopations to blackened blasts which culminate into the crushing defeat of the song’s climax. Moments of volatility are born from a deft contrast between repetitions and fluctuations in meter and tempo which reflect the surreal in everyday life. The impassioned sludgy churn of “Cicada Tree” gives way to the album’s most consonant and dreamlike track “The Light That Came From Beside The Sea,” whose title is one of several references to the enigmatic Mayan text Popul Vuh.

Diverse textures are used throughout The Slow Bark to shape each piece’s character. Layered effects on tracks like “Cutting Ants, Conquering Ants” intensify an air of anxiety. Feelings of nostalgia on the album are invoked by haunting delays, where cavernous reverbs create a sense of loneliness and longing. The crushing, penultimate moments of “Cold Fingers” is bolstered by obscured layers of piano, 12-string guitar, and the album’s single use of vocals. The Slow Bark’s increasingly bleak arc is mirrored by the progression of vignettes that glue the pieces together. As they move from subtle loops and quasi-natural sounds to the utterly ominous, these vignettes further demonstrate Stander’s skillful use of emotive sounds.

Following in the tradition of midwestern instrumental acts before them such as Tortoise, Pelican, and Russian Circles, Stander defies categorization. Propelled by a sense of disquiet, their music is endlessly fluid and searching. On The Slow Bark, Stander unite that defiant spirit with an emotionally blistering core to exhilarating ends.

credits

released May 10, 2019

Mike Boyd - guitars, piano, samples
Derek Shlepr - bass
Stephen Waller - drums
Corbin Howard - wurlitzer on "Cold Fingers"

Recorded and mixed by Doug Malone at Jamdek/Minbal

Additional recording by Mike Boyd at Flooded Fox Den

Mastered by Patrick Klem

Special thanks to Erik Keldsen of Immune Recordings, Doug Kaplan of Hausu Mountain, and Bettina Richards of Thrill Jockey Records

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all rights reserved

tags

about

Stander Chicago, Illinois

Stander is a 3-piece heavy band from Chicago, IL. Their music is mostly instrumental and defies the boundaries of heavy music, incorporating a myriad of styles and sounds to their sonic palette.

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