You have to hand it to Stand. The sometimes New York-based Dubliners have endured over a decade on the go, without a major commercial breakthrough, despite endless touring particularly in the US North-East where they remain a serious live draw.
Their fifth album, recorded live in a studio in upstate New York, showcases all that’s great about the band – namely epic, powerhouse rock of the calibre of the opener, ‘Love Will Never Creep In’. Make no mistake, Stand trade in big, widescreen anthems and passionately delivered polemics. ‘The Living Kind’, the current single, is a perfect example of their strengths. It calls to mind Simple Minds at their bombastic peak, or Aussie rockers Midnight Oil (whose ‘Beds Are Burning’ could be a template for the Stand sound). Unfortunately 100,000 Ways… also reveals why they never made that crucial breakthrough. Despite impressive, albeit traditional, instrumental and vocal chops, the lack of a truly distinctive musical voice surely must’ve hindered their progress, especially in an era where quirkiness thrives and oddballs rule.
Still, the songwriting is never less than strong here. More refined and more radio-friendly, ‘She Is’ would make a far better single than ‘The Living Kind’, while ‘No Regrets‘ boasts Bon Iver-like falsetto vocals to fine effect. The slow-burning ballad ‘Olivia’ is a straightforward love song, ‘Generation Me’ is a treatise on modern-day greed and isolation, while ‘Nature My Mother’, an environmental anthem for our times, rocks out over a Neil Young-like soaring guitar coda.
Long may they run.