Punk Globe (US):
What's in the Big Black Bag? - "Standard and Poor are the Inland Empire's own little secret... They hail from Riverside and kick out some pretty good pop punk rock.. Their press say that The Germs, Black Flag and The Plugz are their influences but I also hear a bit of the Fat Wreckords sound.. This is their first full length, The band which consists of Mr. DeVille on Vocals, Tony Love on Guitar, Lurch on Bass and holding down the Drums is Trace Element do a pretty good job.. I enjoyed Mau Mau's, Standard and Poor, Born Bad and Taken To Young alot. Check them out on My Space http://www.myspace.com/standardandpoor" --Ginger Coyote
Dr Strange Records (US):
What's in the Big Black Bag? - "I've been looking forward to this one. It's not officially out but Bassist Jim (Corpus Delecti and 647F) is a regular at the store and was nice enough to give me an advance copy. Excellent Punk Rock in the style I love; Early 80's Southern California! They were lucky enough to pick up Tracy of White Flag on drums and you can tell was a contribution he has made. The band has become even tighter and more solid sounding. Although the entire band is great I think it's the vocals that really stand out to me. Very cool vocals with that "fuck off" attitude if you know what I mean? Similar to Smogtown or Smut Peddlers. In any case, looking forward to this one! 8 outta 10 syringes!" --Bill
Razorcake (US):
Filthy Basement Secrets EP - "You got some street punk mixed with a pinch of rockabilly here. The first track, “Born Bad,” ditches the punches and goes straight for something sharper: “Born bad your gonna get my knife.” Standard And Poor takes well-traveled ground by writing tunes about liars (“Liar”) and broken hearts (“Heart Crusher Baby”) but put their spin on those topics and, let me tell you, there’s never a dull moment. I’ve already written about three of the six tracks on this EP. Needless to say, it’s going to be on repeat. Get your hands on these Filthy Basement Secrets!" --N.L. Dewart
Ox Fanzine (Issue #84-Jun/Jul 2009) (DE):
Filthy Basement Secrets EP - "Drei Veteranen aus der L.A.-Punkszene (früher unter anderem mal aktiv bei CORPUS DELECTI, DEAD MANS CHOIR, SUICIDE BOMBERS und POLICE STATE) schnappen sich eine Drummerin und wollen es noch mal wissen.
Sechs Songs sind dabei herausgekommen, irgendwo in der Schnittmenge aus STITCHES, SMUT PEDDLERS und all den Streetpunk-Bands, in denen Duane Peters die Finger im Spiel hat. Das Ergebnis ist ganz passabel, die Stücke sind catchy, der Gesang ist markant, allerdings finde ich den Gitarrensound sehr dünn und auch das Schlagzeug hängt manchmal etwas hinterher.
Mal gucken, ob STANDARD AND POOR das auf dem anstehenden ersten Full-Length-Album noch optimieren können, ansonsten ist diese EP zum Antesten ganz gut geeignet." --Bernd Fischer
Individual reviews of STANDARD AND POOR song, I Wanna Go Back, from GarageBand.com:
"This is a solid punk song from the late 70's. This is what you'd expect to hear when someone says punk from the 70's..." --thequartersucks
"Reminds me of the way punk was meant to sound. I really felt like I was listening to the Sex Pistols. Great guitar work and lyrics..." --jhayes
