Progressive, alternative, indie, electro-obscura-rock may sound like a complicated genre of music, but the Standing Shadows’ songs have gained familiarity with a wide enough audience to be featured on television shows such as “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “The Cleaner” and “Harper’s Island.”
The band will play a show at the Good Hurt in the wake of its new EP release, “High Rise.”
The Standing Shadows’ genre-intertwining sound comes from using influences from not just one or two of their favorite bands, but practically all of them.
Rather than coming across as a discontinuous mash-up, the result is a smooth mix of Brit-pop and alternative rock.
“Everything in every song has a purpose and a place. We don’t throw something in a song just to have it there. It’s there doing its job and fitting in perfectly,” said Mike Greco, bass guitarist of the Standing Shadows.
Besides having a U.K.-hip sound, the band adds definition to its music through the use of technology and different effects.
“It’s young, it’s fun, it’s energetic, it’s exciting, and even the mellow songs have energy,” said Dan Silver, lead guitarist of the band. “Production-wise, they have a lot of color, a lot of unique tone. We’re kind of tone freaks. We like to tweak until it sounds as beautiful as it possibly can.”
Though not an intentional goal of the band per se, television has allowed it to reach a wider audience.
Though they hope a combination of media and live shows will be the best way to reach and relate to the audience, the Standing Shadows have discovered that television helps them reach out to younger audiences who don’t listen to the radio as often as older generations.
“As we started getting (television) placements, we didn’t know what to expect,” Silver said. “When it comes to the people in that part of the industry who are choosing music, they have to go with … what they think is going to work for the show, that’s going to capture their audiences. So it’s really hard to say why, but I think we’ve obviously hit something that hits a common likeness across people who watch the shows that we’re in.”
The band’s music has also been used as background music for interviews with Matt Bellamy of Muse and Shirley Manson of Garbage in “Guitar Hero 5.”
Silver said he believes the music fits well with the game because of the common influences the Standing Shadows share with Muse and Garbage.
Like “Guitar Hero” itself, the Standing Shadows’ music resonates powerfully with a college audience, though people of all ages are likely to find meaning with their songs.
“It’s fun music. … It fits all types of people. It reaches out to everybody ““ it’s not just focused. (Silver and vocalist David Miltenberger) did a great job with making it work with anybody,” said Michael Ascolese, the band’s drummer.
“We’re more content with spreading the music, spreading the love than worrying about who can afford to make it in the door. We want to make sure people have a chance to come see us and have a great time and party down,” Silver said.
Just because they’re hoping to interact with a lot of people doesn’t mean the Standing Shadows write solely to please the crowd.
“You need to make sure you write from yourself. It’s got to come from within you. If you specifically try to write for some certain audience, you could fail,” Miltenberger said. “You’ve got to write what you love, what makes you feel good ““ the music that you would like to listen to.”