The dB's Stands for deciBels LP (Black & White Split Color Vinyl)

Analog Planet Rated 9/10 Music, 8/10 Sound!

2024 Remastered Edition of the band's 1981 debut. First-ever U.S. pressing on limited edition Black and White split-colored vinyl.

Pitchfork cited Stands for deciBels among its list of Top 100 Albums of the 1980s.

On their debut, the dB's combined a reverence for British pop and arty post-punk leanings that alternate between minimalism and a love of quirky embellishment, odd sounds, and unexpected twists; Stands for deciBels is clearly a collegiate pop experiment, but rarely is experimentation so enjoyable and irresistibly catchy.

Atop their two-guitar line-up, the dB's experiment with keyboards and effects, firing rounds of world class hooks at fans' feet and daring them not to pogo. And all this while retaining such a distinct sound; unlike many guitar-pop bands of the time, the dB's preferred a live, unpolished sound to glossy 80s production.

In a better world, this debut would've put them on a level with the Sex Pistols, the Band, and Brian Eno. In this world, it made them just another fetish for the rock cultists, but if they came out today and were given the attention they always deserved, the dB's would sound just as startling, fresh, and innovative as they must have to the lucky few that heard them the first time around... Stands for deciBels blends experimentation with pure catchiness in a way that few other records have been able to do.

Musically speaking, Stands for deciBels is a vibrant winner. Pardon the cliché, but the original producers and engineers certainly captured lightning in a bottle here. As with the best early indie-rock releases, there is a palpable energy emanating from these grooves — something that leaps from the speakers. It may, in fact, make you jump out of your own comfy chair to pogo around the room while you're listening to this LP — so be forewarned. Hopefully, someday, the original master tapes will be located, and then a fully analog incarnation can be released. But for now, Propeller's new, 2024 inaugural U.S. vinyl edition of Stands for deciBels is plenty enjoyable and fun to spin — and that is probably the best summation I can offer to entice you to pick up a copy of this LP sooner than later, especially since it is also labeled as being a 'limited edition.'