Rock Sound editorial director Ryan Bird on Stand Atlantic’s Sidewinder EP
There’s a little bit of an unspoken rule in the Rock Sound office that if I ask to know more about a band that’s playing on the stereo, there’s a good chance we’re going to be covering them a lot.
After I heard their forthcoming debut EP Sidewinder, Australia’s Stand Atlantic recently became the latest mob to pique my interest.
Straddling both ends of the pop-punk spectrum, this five-track release is surprisingly varied.
From the huge, skyscraper chorus of the title track to the quick riffs and even quicker snare clatter of lead single Coffee At Midnight, the result is a collection of songs that could see the trio comfortably sharing stages with everyone from Tonight Alive and With Confidence to Knuckle Puck and The Story So Far.
Singer/guitarist Bonnie Fraser is a real star-in-waiting, and it’s her varied and impassioned vocal performance that takes some of the songs on display here from good to great.
With a confident and outgoing personality to boot, there’s every chance that this time in a year she will be one of the genre’s best-known personalities.
The band have been touring Down Under with New Found Glory, but they should be making their way over to the UK for the first time in the coming months, and next summer they could prove to be one of the festival circuit’s breakthrough acts.
In a scene that has its fair share of mediocrity, this lot are the real deal.
Ryan Bird (@ryanbird87)
Editorial director, Rock Sound
