Great British Hopes: Standard Fare

Great British Hopes are the main reason we do this in the first place.

It never ceases to amaze me how a band can suddenly just pop up out of nowhere.  Standard Fare have apparently been about since 2006.  The first I heard of them was a few months ago when their Christmas song Tinsel Politics started doing the rounds.  It seems that I wasn’t alone in that either.  The first music blog mention of them I can find is from July 2009.  Seeing as music blogs are the only gauge of how noticed a band are, I can only assume that they were playing gigs to three people for the three years in between.

This year though, Standard Fare seem to be blowing up.  Everywhere I look, there they are.  London Popfest?  Check.  SXSW?  Check.  Indietracks?  Do you even need to ask?  Their suddenly ride in these particular circles actually reminds me of the great Los Campesinos! explosion of 2006.  Hell, both bands even have recognisable songs with “dancing” in the title.  Can’t argue with reasoning like that.

Of course, none of this would be happening in the first place if the talent wasn’t there to back it up.  Standard Fare provide a nice throwback to the days when jangly guitars and half-bored female vocalists were all the rage.  Clever indie pop for those who likes things just a little on the harder side of twee.