ABOUT THIS ITEM

Ten Years in the making the Grubby Mitts and Lost Toys Records are proud to present STANDARD, available for the first time on vinyl & download. This track has been the bands set closer in All but two of a multitude of concerts, previously circulating as live versions and a demo from 2004; it is now condensed to a post-­everything five minute alt rock country drum and bass sing along anthem. The previous single from the Grubby Mitts, To a Friend’s House, found its way on to daytime BBC6 Music and was described by Drowned in Sound as “a thoughtscursion… oddly moving and hypnotic… only a churl could object”.

The Devil Has the Best Tuna described it as “quirky, affectionate, affecting and sounds like The Polyphonic Spree if they'd been brought up in a council house in Croydon”, whilst The Folly of Youth called it, "deceptively simple but utterly uplifting: an inspiring battle-hymn of honest friendship." The 5-piece band combine improvised electronica, strings, toys, guitars, percussion, homemade instruments, and lyrical refrains into songs unlike any other band you are likely to hear.

In print The Guardian described the band’s music as “…Wonderfully sad, with huge conviction and emotion”, and Timeout described the band as “experimental folk art pop with occasional notes of sea shanty”. They have been invited to play two sets at this years Latitude Festival and the band’s leader Andy Holden will be constructing a large temporary sculpture at the invitation of the festival. The Guardian has described Andy Holden’s sculpture as “Inward-looking and subtly monumental… Holden's work confirms the seriousness and intelligence of young art at the moment”.

Side A:
Standard

Side B:
The Thing In Itself