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The Stands
ALL YEARS LEAVING
(Echo)
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Although this debut album by the Liverpool foursome came out overseas last year, it sounds as if it had been kicking around since the late 1960s, so indebted are the compositions of 28-year-old bandleader Howie Payne to Bob Dylan, the Byrds, and the Beatles. And that’s not a criticism. Sure, you can set your watch by the regularity of the harmonica solos, and Payne occasionally pushes his tenor into a nasal register that more than just recalls Mr. Zimmerman. But the band’s melodies are catchy, and thoughtful arrangements enhance each of the 13 tracks. "Here She Comes Again" is enlivened with enough percussion to outfit a Hare Krishna processional, and intricate, discreet backing vocals shade — but never overshadow — a number of tracks. The Stands do deviate from the template on the electric-guitar-drenched psychedelic closer, "The Way She Does," and on "Always Is the Same/Shine On," which begins with just acoustic guitar and piano before building to a full-band climax that segues into a coda so bare-bones, it could be excerpted from the Carter Family songbook. All Years Leaving doesn’t pretend to be original, only entertaining, engaging, and instilled with the promise of more innovative things to come. (The Stands open for Brendan Benson this Wednesday, April 13, downstairs at the Middle East, 480 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square; call 617-864-EAST.)
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