Even in this increasingly disposable world we precariously cling to, some things are worth labouring over. Take STANLEY SUPER 800 for instance: at their album launch in Cork recently, the band admitted the record had taken over two years of their time to painstakingly piece together and it was hardly an easy pregnancy.
However, now the firstborn is finally blinking in the morning light, the proud parents can certainly feel a swell of pride as "Stanley Super 800" is a fine debut, full of both the wonked-out pop sensibilities and weirder asides the band's great, psyched-out gigs show them to be capable of.
Before I contine on to shower the band with much-deserved superlatives, though, a quick note of caution if you've only seen them live since the addition of new drummer and "early Christmas present" Dave, as "Stanley Super 800" was mostly recorded prior to his rocksteady input and is a more sinewy, spacy beast than the present version of the group, with the band's electro tendencies often bubbling to the surface.
That said, once you've taken a step back, this is no bad thing at all, and after several listens, "Stanley Super 800" really starts to deliver. Admittedly, kicking off with the tremendous Super Furries-meet-late Velvets thrills of "Rolled Up In Gold" is a great idea by anyone's standards, but the band sensibly don't blow their load immediately and keep the ludicrously simple, Pulp-esque genius of "Summer In The City" and the deliciously stoned wisdom of "Mountain Climbing" in reserve for a little later on.
Besides, when SS800 do let up a little and get all blissed out on us, it's still a fascinating ride. To this end, try the Eastern sunburst of "Moonlight", the unlikely vocoders'n' sequences of "Voices In The Music" and the closing "Starry", which is basically "Voices..." taken to its' natural mellow conclusion thanks to some heroic synthscapes from keyboard man Tosh. All flirt with ambience, grooves and electro pulses, but are still recognisably Stan nonetheless.
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We'll gloss over the embarrassing "Revenge Of The Vinegar Man" collaboration with Jinx Lennon for the emperor's new clothes it is and instead rejoice over the album's other major departure, "It's All Over Now", which is certainly not a cover of The Stones/ Bobby Womack, but an exquisitely lonely, windswept piano ballad with Stan and Annette Buckley making like Bill Callahan and Gillian Welch stranded on the final clifftop in the universe. Chilling.
There's lots more, of course, and I haven't even touched on the lugubriously catchy beat group pop of "For Today" and the all-too brief, soundtrack-style escapade of "Easy", but really "Stanley Super 800" is a playful, thought-provoking debut for the discerning listener who demands stimulants for head, heart and limbs and provides the first major signpost to what this writer is sure will be a lengthy and distinctive musical journey.
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