June 1, 2006 | Posted by David B. at 8:45 PM

Let's count the rings around my eyes

photo

The New Standards is a project that probably shouldn't work. The band consists of two Minneapolis rock icons and an expert vibraphonist: John Munson (Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare), Chan Poling (The Suburbs) and Steve Roehm (vibraphonist extraordinaire). They play all sorts of covers, ranging from songs by Kurt Weill to Beck. Their debut record The New Standards has some real gems on it, including great versions of "The New Pollution," "All The Young Dudes" and Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart." My favorite, though, is "I Will Dare" by hometown heroes The Replacements.

The New Standards - I Will Dare.

That's Poling on piano, Munson on double bass and Roehm on vibraphone. (Fun piece of trivia: Poling also played piano on Let It Be, the Replacements record on which this song originally appeared.)

What I love about this record is how seriously the band takes these covers. This isn't to say it's all gravely somber, but the three guys are accomplished musicians, and they don't hold back.

You can buy The New Standards from the band's website.

Comments

great band great disc great live see them

Posted by: dave at June 3, 2006 8:56 PM

they play perfectly live. and i mean it. recent shows have included covers of Essence (Lucinda Williams), The Book of Love (The Magnetic Fields) and Que Sera Sera (Doris Day).
Get their album. so worth it.

Posted by: ella at June 7, 2006 4:58 PM
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