The Album Club: "Stands for Decibels" by The dB's

[Trollheart]

Time to move on. You know what to do.

[Janszoon]

I've owned that album for ages and don't listen too much so I guess that's not exactly a ringing endorsement. However, I did coincidentally happen to give it a re-listen a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty good.

[Zhanteimi]

.

[MicShazam]

This isn't really my kind of thing by any means since I'm not that big of a fan of regular rock music of varying descriptions.
I find the music here to be sort of boring. The singer has a really thin and unimpressive singing voice and just about no singing skills.
I get a bit of a Beach Boys vibe from this at times, but more 80's sounding - which is fitting given the age of the album.

Really difficult to say much about this. They're just sort of going for a bunch of lighthearted, somewhat energetic melodic rock tunes, but the songs aren't really that memorable.

The singer is really what sinks this ship for me though. I find him 100% incapable of proving that it needs to be him that's holding the microphone.

There is a sort of sugary, twee vibe to most of this album. Especially the last track. I see why Mord would call it children's music. Basically, this exhibits a bunch of traits that made me hate so much early 2000's indie. I guess this sort of thing is what people mean when they say that something sounds "unbearably white"

This is weak, sexless and a pretty thin cup of tea.

3/10, I guess.

[Psy-Fi]

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
They're trying to be a late 60's sounding pop/rock group like The Monkees.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
See above answer.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Same as answer to question 1.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
No. Too nasally and wimpy sounding for my ears.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
Some of it was OK. Nothing really impressed me or stuck with me, though.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?
Stayed about the same throughout.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
The lyrics didn't do much for me. Mediocre at best.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
See answer to question 5.

9. What did you think of the production?
Not bad but I thought it sounded rather tinny.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
Yes. I heard them back in the early 80's, didn't do anything for me at the time. Didn't think I'd be much into them now, either, and I was right.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
No. This type of music mostly just sounds too wimpy/poppy/teenyboppy for me.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
Listened twice. A bit of it sounded slightly more interesting with the second listen, but not enough for me to care to give it a third listen.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
The last track "Moving in Your Sleep" was the closest I came to a favorite track.

14. And the one you liked least?
"I'm in Love." It's power pop without any power.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
I'ts their debut but that fact didn't change my reaction to it.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
No. They just don't do anything for me musically, vocally, or lyrically.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
No. See answer to question 10.

18. Did the album end well?
The last track was the only one I sort of liked, so yes.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Different vocalist, less tinny sounding production (put some real power in that "power" pop), different lyrics.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
I guess it hung together fairly well. Nothing sounded out of place.

4/10

[Goofle]

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Pretty good stuff. I like this style of music quite a bit and it comes across as quite modern.
2. What did you think of the opening track?
See above answer.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Felt a little more psychedelic because of the vocal. I liked.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
He was fine. Would have worked better with a female vocalist IMO. Then again I would say that about most music.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
Yeah it was fine. It did it's job well.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?
Rather consistent.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
Disn't take any notice.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
Was good, nothing amazing.

9. What did you think of the production?
Seemed okay to me.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
I do not remember hearing much about them.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
Not generally, but I have never strayed away from it intentionally.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
Liked it about the same both times.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
'The Fight' and 'Black and White'.

14. And the one you liked least?
'I'm in Love' was a bit sap.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
Nope.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
Probably won't to be honest.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Nope.

18. Did the album end well?
It was fine.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Female vocalist, a bit more raw.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
It was cohesive.



6.5/10

[TechnicLePanther]

I actually really love this album. I heard it for the first time a few years ago and it didn't do much for me. However, upon listening to it again more recently, I began to notice a lot more songwriting-wise that I found really intriguing. In terms of performance, I would definitely agree with those who are saying it's nothing particularly spectacular, but I don't tend to focus much on the quality of performance anyways.

The jangly style of this album, while it can grate after a little while, does provide some opportunity for some excellent songwriting to shine through, and I think it really does on this one. If the entire album was as superbly written as "Black and White", this album would certainly be a masterpiece. As it is, there are some good tracks and some not so good tracks. Among the best I'd list: "Black and White", "Dynamite", "She's Not Worried", "Cycles Per Second", and "Moving In Your Sleep". And of course there are some more generic and less interesting songs such as: "Espionage", "Tearjerkin'", and "Big Brown Eyes". I still consider these songs good however.

And that's really just it for me with this album, while nothing on here except perhaps "Black and White" is anything exceedingly great, each song on the album is at least good. And that's the kind of consistency that I look for in my favorite albums. 8/10

On my list of favorite to least favorite albums:

Naked City - Radio
The dB's - Stands for Decibels
Glenn Branca - The Ascension

[Frownland]

I like the album, but only for a few songs. Those few songs are nice though, since I can catch a lot of echoes of Renaldo and the Loaf on some tracks. If they were opening for a better band, I'd still catch their set because I could see them having some energy. These guys are certainly an interesting blend of psychdelic and pop genres. The parts that are more traditionally psychedelic were my least favourite part tbh, as Psy-fi mentioned earlier with the Monkees comparison. I think the percussion and the harmonies are the strongest elements of this album, since they're consistently interesting.

The tracks do tend to drag on a bit and I don't really see myself throwing on again unless I'm with someone who I think might enjoy it. It really falls off at the end with all of the love songs with the exception of Judy.

Favourite songs: Dynamite, The Fight, Cycles Per Second
Songs they should cut: She's Not Worried, Espionage, Bad Reputation, Big Brown Eyes, I'm In Love

6/10

[Trollheart]

And once again we come crashing down to earth. After the superlative Super Fly last week, we're faced with a substandard, pedestrian little jangle pop album that hardly even deserves a meh.

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Like most people: Beach Boys, Monkees wannabes.
2. What did you think of the opening track?
Didn't think much of it. Odd that TLP says that if the rest of the album were like this it would be much better. I'd have to disagree.
3. What did you think of the next track?
About the same. Pretty meh.
4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions? (see note 1)
Passable. Nothing special. At times he seems to think he's so hard (“The Fight”) which is almost adorable.
5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not? (see note 2)
Not really no. Standard jangly pop with bit of surf rock thrown in. Meh.
6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
Improved slightly, but not a lot.
7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
Quite puerile. The nadir of this, and its truest proof, is “The Fight”. Jesus guys! Write some lyrics, why don't you?
8. Did you like the instrumental parts? (see note 3)
Meh
9. What did you think of the production?
Insert answer here
10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
No.
11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
Not really, no. I prefer a little more depth and colour in my music.
12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
Kind of less. Only listened twice though.
13. What would you class as your favourite track(s), if you have any?
Nothing really stood out.
14. And the one(s) you liked least?
“The Fight”, by a long way. Though “Tearjerkin'” sounded like it was totally ripped off, although I couldn't say from what. “Cycles per second” was pretty annoying too.
15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated? (see note 4)
It is debut, so maybe. I don't know.
16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
No
17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Not really. I'd read a few of the reviews and kind of knew what to expect.
18. Did the album end well?
Bleh.
19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Some decent songwriting (sorry TLP; I don't see it), a better singer maybe?
20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
I really didn't care enough to notice.

Can only muster a 3/10 for this. Very boring and predictable. Next!

[MicShazam]

The funny thing is, two weeks ago, I would have guessed this album to be much more the sort of thing that people in here would like than last week's album (Curtis Mayfield).