The Smith Westerns’ self-titled debut album came out when the Chicago-based band members were teenagers. Four years later, their naive garage-rock vibe is not so naive. The trio still has youth to its advantage but has managed to produce a "mature" sound on its third LP.
I had heard the single "Varsity" several months ago and dug it but forgot about it — peppy paced with petty lyrics, it wasn’t that catchy.
Opening track “3am Spiritual" has an entertaining, quasi-majestic vibe, complete with a string quartet–backed chorus. Cullen Omori's voice sounds like a Beach Boy singing glam punk. It's a modest effort to sound older and cooler, but the adolescent tone is still too dominant to fool anyone. "XXIII" is pretty much a Pink Floyd track circa Dark Side of the Moon. "Best Friends" is one of the more developed tracks but almost dips too far into cheesy rock-ballad territory, stopping one guitar solo short of becoming a cliché.
Soft Will offers some different approaches to the raw, lo-fi, teen-angst vibe they put out with their first two collections. After all, they are, like, 21 now...so wise.
The Smith Westerns appear at Casbah on Monday, August 12.
The Smith Westerns’ self-titled debut album came out when the Chicago-based band members were teenagers. Four years later, their naive garage-rock vibe is not so naive. The trio still has youth to its advantage but has managed to produce a "mature" sound on its third LP.
I had heard the single "Varsity" several months ago and dug it but forgot about it — peppy paced with petty lyrics, it wasn’t that catchy.
Opening track “3am Spiritual" has an entertaining, quasi-majestic vibe, complete with a string quartet–backed chorus. Cullen Omori's voice sounds like a Beach Boy singing glam punk. It's a modest effort to sound older and cooler, but the adolescent tone is still too dominant to fool anyone. "XXIII" is pretty much a Pink Floyd track circa Dark Side of the Moon. "Best Friends" is one of the more developed tracks but almost dips too far into cheesy rock-ballad territory, stopping one guitar solo short of becoming a cliché.
Soft Will offers some different approaches to the raw, lo-fi, teen-angst vibe they put out with their first two collections. After all, they are, like, 21 now...so wise.
The Smith Westerns appear at Casbah on Monday, August 12.