Smith Westerns

iTunes Review

Plot line: four teenagers from Chicago find a copy of famed Nuggets compilation and discover great, unknown garage bands from the ‘60s, then end up in a creepy old house out in the woods. OK, only the first part of that scenario is true. The next part should actually read, “... and from that moment forward, their own take on punk rock was redefined.” Smith Westerns do a stellar job of infusing an exuberant, modern punk sensibility with vintage psych-rock mojo. This full-length debut sputters to life on the Wavves-ish “Dreams,” with reverb not quite heavy enough to drown out the sparkling xylophone notes or Cullen Omori’s boyish vocals. The song pretty much sets the tone: we get fuzz-drenched party rock (“Gimme Some Time,” “My Heart”), narco-laced, early Stones-inspired hootenannies (“Boys Are Fine,” “Tonight”), and a couple shots of swaggering, T-Rex sexiness (“Be My Girl,” “Diamond Boys”). Don’t let the deep-into-the-red recording levels discourage you: those pop melodies are evident on first listen, and shine through the murk a little more with each listen.