The Spring Standards Play "Cowboys" in NYC

Click the image to watch the video premiere of "The Hush." Like the song?  Click here to download the mp3 for free.

For years, Paste has told you about the whimsical charm of The Spring Standards. Between their super-tight vocal harmonies, creative instrument choices, and lighthearted songwriting, they're a band that's really hard not to like. Their latest video is certainly in keeping with the band's aesthetic, but turned up a notch. Heather Robb  answered a few questions about the new video, and what else fans can expect from the band's upcoming EP.

Paste: It definitely feels like a different sound from you guys. What led you to try a country song?
Robb:  The three of us love old country music - it's pretty common to find us listening to it in the van. We all play in a side project called Dill Dotson and the Chupacabra Kings, and all we do is classic country.  So it was a natural extension.

Paste: In a lot of ways, it seems like a good fit. You three have always had really good tight vocal harmonies, which is kind of an essential for country. Where there any difficult elements to trying on a different style?
Robb: Our sound is pretty amorphous so we're always experimenting with different styles.  The challenge of writing a song in a very specific genre is that you rarely feel like you do it justice so you're constantly fighting the feelings of inadequacy.  The harmony thing definitely came naturally, but we had to bring in some heavy hitters to help us capture the country sound. Pete Lalish on electric guitar and Rob Hecht on fiddle made all the difference in the world.

Paste: Was this song the beginning of a whole bunch more genre bending?
Robb: We definitely feel like we're always going to be dabbling in different styles - our next EP is going to be all metal. I'm joking there, but the answer is yes, absolutely.

Paste: The video itself is really fun too. Between the plastic violin, and Heather's "drumming" on a tambourine while there was clearly a lot more going on in the percussion track, it seemed a bit like a critique of music videos that involve lip/instrument syncing. Am I reading too much into that?
Robb: This video was actually the brainchild of the directors (Brooke Sebold and Shawn Wines) - we usually play a big role in conceptualizing these things, but in this case we totally handed over the reigns to them.  I think they were more interested in creating a relaxed, playful atmosphere than in critiquing a certain kind of music video but there's definitely a tongue-in-cheek element that speaks indirectly to what you're saying. Mostly we just wanted to run around NYC dressed like fake cowboys.

Paste: You've successfully pulled off cartoonish pretend cowboys in a video now...Can you give me three other awesome video concepts you would like to make happen over the course of your career?
Robb: We've actually got 3 videos in the works right now that we're hoping to have finished in the next few months - one is done entirely with puppets, one is comprised of a bunch of fan videos and the last one will be a bike trip through Brooklyn. And that's all I will reveal!