IN REVIEW: The Stanfields - "Modem Operandi"

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The Stanfields explored their roots on their third album For King and Country in 2013. Ably performed but lacking the raucous Maritime energy of their first two records, I found myself not going back to it very often. Now, that record feels kind of like a stopgap release, as fourth record Modem Operandi charges from the gate; White Juan is a quick, furious blast of punk-inspired mayhem that acts as a jarring intro to the album.

The majority of Modem Operandi splits the difference between the traditional east coast leanings that came into full fruition on For King and Country and the Dropkicks-inspired pure rock fury that endeared them to fans from day one. There's a fair amount of new ground to the band to cover as well; they recently swapped out two members, so changes were expected. Granted, they still sound like The Stanfields, so no need to worry.

Perhaps the greatest departure is The Marystown Expedition, an ambitious folk/rock tune that turns into a Floydian ballad at around the halfway mark. That's followed by rowdy first single Fight Song and a pair of muscular, catchy tunes in Sunday Warships and Mainline. Streets of Gold, meanwhile, should easily find a home on any Maritime radio station that proudly plays local music, with its particularly melodic, traditional arrangement. Lady Argyle stays in the same neighbourhood, but brings back the electric guitars and utilizes an uptick in intensity that's befitting of an album's penultimate track. Will the Circuit Be Unbroken, a near seven-minute shapeshifter that closes the album, has epic intentions and nearly delivers on them, but drones on a little much and concludes with an abrupt bizarre saxophone solo that feels grossly out of place.

All in all, though, there really isn't much of anything on Modem Operandi that I can accuse of being filler; however, when you consider that this record's eight tracks make up an album that barely reaches a half hour running time, it does overall feel slight at best and incomplete at worst. A couple more songs, even of inferior quality, might have could the album out and given it a more proper feel. That's the worst criticism I can level at Modem Operandi, though, and it's more likely the record was made with our society's short attention spans in mind than middle aged music geeks who operate amateur critic blogs in their spare time.

September 18, 2015 • Groundswell/Warner
Highlights The Marystown Expedition • Sunday Warships • Streets of Gold

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