Standards - Fruit Island [CD]

Led by the exuberant melodies of cross-tapping guitarist Marcos Mena, the duo named standards make ebullient instrumental math-rock whose effervescent riffs teem with enthusiasm for life and music. On the band's debut full-length, Fruit Island, standards deftly retool math-rock's sinister and challenging tendencies into a style that is at once danceable yet still compositionally profound.

In spite of the band's technical and precise stylings, the strictly instrumental compositions are always catchy and singable, inviting listeners to join the band's dancing fruit mascots whose colorful personalities reflect the music's upbeat nature. Fruit Island's second single, "May," perfectly captures the duo's fruity alternate universe, conjuring images of anthropomorphic melons and berries bobbing along to pleasantly angular riffs and chop-heavy drums.