7th Standard

Ultraphonic Noise

Midway through “Bring the Frowns,” the first track on this six-song EP, I figured south Sacto quartet 7th Standard to be yet another radio-ready combo that was alt-rock-format-focused for maximum market penetration. With its post-Nirvana loud/soft dynamics and a buzz-happy overdriven wall of guitars, it was like: “Suburban angst-a-thon alert—call the major-label A&R weasels, pronto!” Nevermind that red herring, though; from the second song forward, the band redeems itself nicely, demonstrating an above-average amount of rock ’n’ roll smarts. Singer/guitarist Jason Mason’s voice may not be your standard arena-god bellow, but it works for these songs, at least one of which, “Embarrassing,” is quite remarkable. The way it builds, from quiet to louder to loud using smooth melodic transitions, belies a sophisticated approach to songwriting not often found in album-rock fare these days. Promising stuff.