The dB’s – Stands For DeciBels
The dB’s, much like their fellow southern contemporaries in R.E.M. and Let’s Active, helped bring the Power Pop tradition of Big Star, complete with jangly guitars, to a whole new generation of music fans, and in the process went on to inspire a slew of bands from The Posies and Jellyfish to Matthew Sweet and Material Issue.
Their long out of print debut, Stands For DeciBels, has just been re-released on CD and available for the first time in the U.S. on vinyl. Though it came out more than four decades ago, there is a timelessness to the songs here that make it just as relevant to kids not even alive when the band first broke up in the late ‘80s. The record opens on “Black And White,” a stellar intro to the band, with pounding drums, jangly guitar and Chris Stamey’s distinct vocals. What follows is a fantastic evolution of the genre. Some of the songs here are quicker to stick with you (though “Espionage” and “She’s Not Worried,” both take several listens to really click), but on the whole it’s a fantastic record and even more impressive when you realize it was the band’s first effort.
“We recorded it in the run-down Manhattan of 1979, in the aftermath of the CBGB explosion, when ‘anything goes’ was the rule; we were Southern expats playing on bills with the likes of the Feelies, Bush Tetras, and X, but felt a special camaraderie with a few of the more musically versatile yet still rebellious bands of the time, the Soft Boys, NRBQ, and the Attractions among them,” Stamey said.
They produced the record along with Alan Betrock, founder of the publication New York Rocker. Among those also mixing the record were Don Dixon and Scott Litt, both who would go on to work with R.EM.
Stands For DeciBels may have come out 43 years ago, but it is just as relevant in 2024. This re-release will hopefully lead to another generation of bands discovering the music and starting a much-needed Jangle Pop revival.
Find the album and more details here: https://thedbs.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Interview: Peter Holsapple Identifies as an “Omnicana” Musician, Talks About Model Cars, His Concept Album, and the Disappearance of Credits
