Playing it forward

By Henry Lipput

Stands for deciBels, the debut album by North Carolina’s The dB's, has been re-released by Propellor Sound Recordings. It’s been remastered and is available for the first time on vinyl in the U.S (the new CD edition of the album includes the bonus track “Judy” which was not included on the original release).

The sounds on Stands for deciBels are made up of both older bands that had influenced The dB's but also newer musical trends that members Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, Gene Holder, and Will Rigby clicked with.  The album contains songs like “The Fight” with a prominent jagged guitar right out of XTC and “Tearjerkin’” has the electro-pop of Gary Numan but with extra pop. 

Both “Bad Reputation” and “Big Brown Eyes” have a real 70’s power pop glow with the first channeling The Romantics and the second right out of the Raspberries’ song book and “Moving in Your Sleep” recalls the hazy sound of Big Star’s Third. My favorite of these musical tributes to bands of the not-so-distant past is the wonderful Beach Boys-flavored “She’s Not Worried.”

But Stands for deciBels isn’t only about looking backwards; the album became an inspiration for bands that were just starting out but also those who were yet to be. Mike Mills of R.E.M. said about hearing the album for the first time: “This is the one that let me know we were not alone, that there were others out there with the same curiosity, the same willingness to dive into melody, structure, and pop sensibility,”

And although you can hear what Mills is talking about when it comes to the album’s melody, structure, and pop sensibility, it’s the first song on the dB's album, “Black and White,” that more than likely hit the nail on the head for him and his new band.