"...(a) gem of a pop record."
-Mark Jordan, The Commercial Appeal (album came in at #7 on the Memphis daily's "Top 10 Local Releases of 2005" list)
"Both their voices perfectly meld together, which makes the harmonies one of the great attractions of the CD. Check the bare, Everly Brothers-like 'Teenage Heart', for example. And talking about attractions, the energetic 'Keeping Still' could have been written by the young Elvis Costello." (4 out of 5 stars)
-Peer Bataille, Alt-Country NL
"(The album) emits a clean, catchy sound with smart songwriting that blends the sounds of early '90s R.E.M. (circa 'Automatic For the People') on numbers like 'Perpetual Afternoon' with pedal steel and mandolin accompaniment that gives it the same drive as Michael Stipe and crew."
-Mitch Morgan, Oxford Town
"...one of the better recordings I’ve heard out of Memphis in the last few years."
"The dual lead singers have truly engaging voices that seem to keep you listening to the story they are telling; and while there are two of them, I defy you to be able to pick one of them out as they harmonize perfectly together."
-Jonathan Kiersky, divingin2memphis.com
"The songs are strong and have plenty of hooks and lyrical quirks...a fine record."
-Patrick Wilkins, Americana UK
"This acoustic-based four-piece band is more folk than country and not alt-anything, though their ever-present harmonies and jangle-folk songcraft are reminiscent of onetime alt-country standard-bearers The Jayhawks."
-Chris Herrington, The Memphis Flyer
"As poppy and radio-friendly as The Central Standards can be at times, they’re never bubble-gum or anything you could imagine your 10-year-old sister listening to. Everything’s just a little too bluesy — a bit too seventies — for modern mass consumption."
-John Dyson, performermag.com
"This follow-up (to 2003's Refrain)...shows a band that is maturing and ready to be heard on the national level."
-J-Sin, Smother Magazine
Forgive us if we have a bit of a complex. For once, though, it's not due to the pressure of writing, performing and recording in the shadows of Memphis greats like Elvis Presley, Al Green and Alex Chilton, but rather the knowledge that no entity that touched the production of this record (aside from the band, thankfully) is still in business. Let us explain.
When recording commenced on Can't Remember the Last Time in December 2004, we stepped into legendary Easley-McCain Studios (White Stripes, Wilco, Jeff Buckley) with the plan to make a live-sounding and immediate-feeling follow-up to our 2003 debut Refrain. We had a great time playing our new songs live in the studio, and we hope that comes through on the record. But, that's about where things stopped going according to plan.
In March of this year, just as we were about to do final mixes of the tracks, Easley caught on fire and, subsequently, shut down operations. So, master tapes in tow, we headed to Memphis SoundWorks to finish up. On our final night of production there, producer/engineer Posey Hedges announced that it was his final night in the business. The next day, he was set to start running his recently acquired lumber mill. And on the day we approved the final version of our record at CryRock Mastering, the technician told us (you guessed it!) that he'd be shutting down his studio in order to take a teaching job.
So, here you have it. A record that was, evidently, finished just in time. We kind of like it, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Jeff Capps - guitar, vocals
Marty Christopher - drums, percussion
Ted Horrell - lead guitar, vocals, piano
Casey Smith - bass
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