Post-punk gets overhauled by The Stills
Despite critics’ comparisons to Joy Division and Interpol, Montreal’s The Stills offer a pop-flavored take on post-punk that is ultimately unique. Less affected than the latter and more accessible than the former, The Stills are one of the best new voices in rock music.
Unlike The Killers, The Strokes, and other revivalist bands, The Stills never sound like they’re consciously crafting an image or sound. Instead they are fresh, light-hearted, and new. Their debut, “Logic Will Break Your Heart,” is dominated by Gang of Four guitars and late 80’s rhythms, though the big synths and pretentiousness of that dark decade are entirely lacking. The result is a credible sound that draws inspiration from past bands without becoming them.
But that isn’t to say that this music is without reference point. The Stills’ music is entirely urban – explaining the comparisons to every angular New York band of the past decade – but coupled with their innocence it comes across as an ancillary urban: a sound so genuine that it’s hard to imagine them creating any other kind of music. Their album is buoyed by a faint sense of humor that keeps it fresh and prevents “Logic Will Break Your Heart” from collapsing under the weight of its own self-importance. This is not an album or a band that is concerned with changing the world, and that is a rare thing in their genre.
Instead The Stills seem possessed with abandoning the air of post-punk and embracing in its place an innocence and light-heartedness that provide just the airing out that the genre needs. They are a breath of fresh air, an opening of the curtains, and a fine example of the promise that post-punk still holds thirty years after its inception, and that’s a lot from a band who doesn’t seem to care.
Zach Pendleton’s column The Best You’ve Never Heard runs each week in Diversions. Comments can be sent to him at zachp@cc.usu.edu.