Stand Up

When the members of the Dave Matthews Band commenced recording 'Stand Up', they did so with the express intent of creating an album markedly different from their past efforts. To this end, they hired R&B / hip-hop producer Mark Batson (Eminem and India Arie) and started down a path of experimentation that re-defined the group's creative process.

Whether on the loop-like electric mandolin lines of "American Baby", the spooky, slowed-down vocal on "Stand Up (For It)", or the psychedelic echo effect from the chorus of "Everybody Wake Up (Our Finest Hour Arrives)", artistic freedom is in the air here, and the musicians sound like they're having the time of their lives.

Even Matthews' idiosyncratic vocals are looser and friendlier, and his lyrics seem more in sync with the music. In fact, the album's overall sense of liberation and quirkiness lends it a sound reminiscent of Mitchell Froom's work on Los Lobos' landmark 'Kiko'.

Of course, long-time fans of the Dave Matthews Band will find all of their favourite elements here, including syncopated, world-music-inspired grooves, jaw-dropping drum chops, a few extended jams, and the dark, immediately identifiable singing of Matthews himself.