Stand-Up Guy – In Fixation, Conspire
Distortion Project Records – May 22nd, 2004
By Jason Jordan
Don’t ever judge an album by its cover. Don’t ever judge a band by its name either. With
Stand-Up Guy, I learned both lessons the hard way. I’m grateful to the gods, though, that
In Fixation, Conspire is boatloads better than what I thought it would be. Imagine the spunkier cousin of
Isis,
Neurosis, and/or
Cult of Luna, and that’s sort of what the band is like.
While the aforementioned groups have the tendency to ebb and flow, or purposefully meander if you will,
Stand-Up Guy are much more straightforward. Thankfully, they’ve got the energy to match as well. A composition like “Fra Diavalo!” has a good crunch to the guitar tones, and the screaming vocalizations are tantalizing. Notable also are the myriad stylings of McClure’s and Booth’s vocals. You aren’t going to find vox of one variety on
In Fixation, Conspire – that fact is partly what makes the album multi-layered and subsequently formidable. To cite “Fra Diavalo!” once again, the opus is mid-paced but is comfortable in its acquisition of ground. “Burning Paper in Bleeding Hand,” similarly, begins with a confident riff and allows clean vox to accompany. “Briefcase Opening” really works at building to the climax, however, in true
Isis form. “The Constant Gossip of the Workplace” commences slowly enough, and reminds me of
Deftones at their peak. The screams that enter at the 0:45 minute mark are heartfelt, emotive renderings. In addition, it’s just bass and drums that provide the background to the aforementioned scenario. Other songs such as “Swandive” and “Longstoryshort” are just good. Sections of
In Fixation, Conspire are reminiscent of an incredibly slow
Spitfire.
In any case,
Stand-Up Guy have given us a great album, which definitely catapults the worth of their meager discography. This was released back in May, but it’s still a fresh endeavor. After all, I don’t distribute 8.5’s like a health center distributes condoms. Now, if I could only do something about that name and cover art…
8.5/10
Official Stand-Up Guy website
Official Distortion Project Records website
