GREATEST
HITS – Standing 8 Counts (Mere
Noise)
The novelty of a band with no commercial aspirations or accomplishments
calling their album “greatest hits” got old a long time ago,
but that’s
not to decry this posthumous debut effort from a gloriously noisy Brisbane
act. While they’re
short on inspiration 
for naming rights, their disc has lots to satisfy fans
of discordant blues.
Standing 8 Counts take obvious cues from the Scientists and a slew of similarly-influenced
bands. No prizes for guessing as much after even a cursory listen. While the
Drones may be cousins, the Standing 8 Counts mostly steer clear of long, drawn-out
opuses in favour of getting their business over with in two or three minutes.
These are explosions rather than rumblings. Where the Counts really come
into their own is in the stuff recorded in their later life for a stalled studio
album. This is when they married interesting chords sequences and guitar figures
to swamp undertones.
Beginning life as a bass-less, three-guitar collective with a solid determination
to clear rooms, Stand 8 Counts obviously picked up some tips along the way. One
of the things they learned was that while nothing succeeds like excess, and sometimes
you can leave a bit of space between the loud bits. Hence the move, over time,
from application of the musical equivalent of a billy club to the use of more
sophisticated weaponry. Like a billy club with nails in the end of it.
Partly derived from rehearsal tapes, “Greatest Hits” is all guitar
overlaid by guitar, sometimes with one instrument providing counterpoint and
almost always as part of a wall of noise. Occasional jew’s harp and dark
vocals complete the picture, but rarely does the angst overcome the songs. And,
yes, there's a bit of angst working its way through the groove, what with titles
like "I'll See You in Your Grave", "You Lied" and "Waiitng to Die".
There
are 22 tracks on "Greatest Hits" with something to please most ears.
From angry blurtings to acid-tinged work-outs, one of the few constants
being the arresting vocal of guitarist Tom Beaumont, who along with six-string
partner Will Fowles was a member for all of the band's eight years.
I’m guessing – and not without evidence – that the Standing
8 Counts sprung up at a time when rock and roll was buried about as far underground
in Brisbane as could be without resembling a corpse, in which case they were
never going to disturb a commercial radio programmer’s gentle sensibilities,
let alone reach mainstream listeners. Which probably suited them just fine. At
least one member ended up in the Vegas Kings, by all accounts another Brisbane
band of the dirty blues variety that's worth a listen.
The
second half of the ‘90s
were tough all over for anything but manufactured music. You ought to make
time each day to get a little of that uncontrived music in your own life,
if you don't do so already. Standing 8 Counts might make for one such noisy
interlude.
–
The Barman
3/4