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I'm not sure when that changed, but here I am nearly six months later still listening to this album. I have to be in the right frame of mind and I do still tire of the sound after five or six tracks, but it hasn't yet dropped off my regular rotation. I'm not sure that's a glowing review but it's got to be something, right?
From Melbourne, The Smith Street Band started released EPs in 2011 and have three studio albums under their belt. They probably sit neatly in the Aussie Rock genre, but there's a hint of indie/hipster in the way some of their tracks build and change. Maybe it's the occasional glockenspiel.
For those of you with a penchant for Aussie Rock, in my opinion these guys rock out like Grinspoon, bring the feels like Jebediah, and are likely suffering mental illness like Something For Kate. At some point one of them has clearly had musical training as there's something almost orchestral about some of the tracks (or perhaps that's just me).
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My favourite tracks are:
- Something I Can Hold In My Hands
- Calgary Girls
- East London Summer, and
- The Arrogance Of The Drunk Pedestrian.
For those of you that like the cut of their jib, there's a cool acoustic track called My Little Sinking Ship on their 2011 album No One Gets Lost Anymore.
Wow. Smith Street does not sound like a happy place. Throw them in the river? Throw some Prozac in after them. I liked the music but it took me a little to get past the sound of the vocals and it wasn't just the frequent pub band screams putting me off. I think it was also the accent. There is just something uncouth about a broad Australian accent in song... which probably makes me terribly accentist given where I live and if you've ever heard me speak. The lyrics were often raw, mixed up & messed up, and written the same way you might express raw, mixed up and messed up feelings after a couple of beers in the aforementioned pub. "I love you, man! I really love you!".
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is an album you must be in the mood for. I must have been in the right one, as I liked "Throw Me in the River" much more than I thought I was going to after the run through. Fungal, indeed.
My favourite tracks were Calgary Girls and I Don't Want to Die Anymore.
I enjoyed the first four or five tracks but I grew weary of the vocals, the angst, the foul vocabulary, and the ridiculously broad accent. Crocodile Dundee doesn't sound as broad as this guy! I think I'll revisit this album again and pick a few of my favourite tracks to keep, but there's no way I can listen to this album head to tail. A 2 for me.
ReplyDeletegot a great Chicago vibe - reminiscient of the Hold Steady, with a little bit of Alkaline Trio (though not nearly as angry, and definitely not as punk). unlike you cheery Aussies, i loved the raw, honest feel of the album. the opening tracks' "spoken word" was really catchy, and even anthem like (very New Jersey!)
ReplyDeleteif it wasn't for the subtle Australian accents, i would have sworn these guys were American.