Stands for Decibels

About Stands for Decibels

Stands for Decibels is the debut studio album by American power pop band the dB's, released in January 1981 by Albion Records. The album was commercially unsuccessful but critically acclaimed. Stands for Decibels was ranked No. 76 on Pitchfork's list of "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s". At the time of its release, the dB's consisted of singer/guitarists Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple, bassist Gene Holder, and drummer Will Rigby. The songwriting was evenly divided between Stamey and Holsapple, although Stamey became known for writing the stranger, more avant-garde numbers ("She's Not Worried", "Espionage") while Holsapple wrote the more accessible, poppier songs ("Black and White", "Bad Reputation"). Both Stamey and Holsapple played keyboards occasionally as well. Holder and Rigby did not receive any songwriting credits (other than a group credit for "Dynamite"). The first track, "Black and White", was also their first single. The album was dedicated to George Scott III. more »