We Are Standard

We Are Standard are an indie rock / post-punk band from Bilbao, Spain. Combining angular guitars that nod to Franz Ferdinand with a gritty, alternative dance sound similar to acts like The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem, the quintet of Deu Txakartegi, Javi Leta, D. W. Farringdon, Jon Aguirrezabalaga, and Juan Escribano released their first album 3000V-4000W in 2007.

For their self-titled sophomore effort (2008, out now in the UK), the band enlisted producer Andy Gill of Gang of Four fame in order to add some of his post-punk / punk-funk flair to the final mix. The end result was a record to let yourself go to, gushing with tasty guitars and accompanied by massive keyboards and a percussive wallop courtesy of two percussionists and some drum machines. And I haven’t even started talking about the cowbells… After a string of incandescent festival performances in 2009 at SXSW, CMJ, Germany’s Popkomn and back home at Benicassim, their impressive year ended with them being crowned ‘Best Spanish Band’ at the MTV European Music Awards. What’s next?

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