American Standards

Introduction

 

In 1998 the iconic Swedish hardcore punk band Refused begged for it, in 2011 we finally began to hear the response. New Noise. American hardcore band American Standards has managed to bring a fresh spin on a genre that has become increasingly riddled with cookie cutter breakdowns and empty messages.

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2011-2012
Formed in 2011, American Standards plays raw, chaotic hardcore sometimes refered to as "mathcore" or "noise punk". The band released its powerhouse debut album under We Are Triumphant (distributed by Victory Records) and immediately went on to share the stage with the likes of Every Time I Die, The Chariot, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Atreyu. 

 

2013-2014

In 2013, American Standards underwent some significant line up changes, replacing their drummer and moving their bassist to guitar. This is when the band also decided to go back to their DIY roots by independently releasing The Death of Rhythm and Blues EP. Many viewed the change as a risky move for a highly anticipated sophomore release, however the transition proved to pay off. The album landed on several top 10 lists for the year and was met with positive critical acclaim.

 

2015-2016

Adjusting the the new environment, in 2015 American Standards began to partner with several international DIY labels in order to allow their international distribution to remain low cost and quickly accessible. This included Enjoyment Records in the U.K. and Nacion Libre in Mexico. It also expanded their available formats from digital and CD to include previously unreleased vinyl and cassettes. Shortly after, the band released the Hungry Hands EP which continued to walk the line between 90s hardcore punk and early 2000s metalcore with a very experimental twist.

 

Beyond

American Standards has announced a new full length album for 2017. Based on posts from the band, the release will continue to build upon sociopolitical themes, corporate greed, satire, materialism and personal struggle. In a recent interview, it was stated that the band lost its founding guitarist Cody Conrad to suicide in 2015 and the singer Brandon Kellum's father and grandmother to cancer that same year. Dealing with these topics are likely to surface in the lyrics of the album.