Out of Sight Out of Town

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The opening "The Look of Lust" is neither a Dusty Springfield nor an ABC riff, but one gets the feeling that on their second album, the English three-piece Standard Fare enjoys both artists' places in the realm of pop past and present. Standard Fare themselves are still all about the principles of guitar pop as derived from gentle '80s indie approaches, whether Smiths, Dentists, or Pastels are involved, whether dealing with a genteel crispness and space, or firing up some friendly rush and fuzz in equal measure on songs like "Bad Temper" and "05/11/07." There's even a bit -- just -- of the kind of twist on dub rhythms that XTC played around with on songs like "Half Sister." But it's brightness and gentle pep that generally rule the roost throughout, though one nice thing about Emma Kupa's vocals that's even clearer this time around is that there's less of a sense of well-meaning wistfulness than something just a touch more experienced and cutting. Instead, there's a sense of both wry emotions and, sometimes, resignation at work -- the sentiments of "Dead Future" are anything but cheery, despite the feeling of the song, and in the wake of the state of the world circa the 2010s, all too understandable. The occasional lead from Danny How, as on songs like "Kicking Puddles" and "Call Me Up" are also enjoyable -- the latter song is an album standout, barrelling along, stripping down the arrangement for a bit of drama and then crashing back in full for a glorious conclusion -- but Kupa once again deserves and gets center stage. Calling a sweet, slow number with just the right melancholic hook and the closing lines "let me go, love...let me go and you will see that I return," "Darth Vader" may be a bit much for some, but Standard Fare are just about the right band to make it work. ~ Ned Raggett