The crunchy "Syd Sweeney" has real throwback appeal even though it's about a contemporary actress. Smut, a Chicago-area band, punch forward on the back of their pop-punk attack and the results are pretty solid. Tomrrow Comes Crashing isn't going to reset the genre, but it's full of music that will likely please those who've come of age in the Nineties and after on these shores.
While the last Smut album I reviewed earned comparisons to more pop stuff, the music on Tomorrow Comes Crashing is decidedly harder. One can hear a hint of The Who in "Dead Air" and its opening chords, or a very faint suggestion of Nirvana in "Waste Me", another highlight here.
On tunes like "Sunset Hymnal", Smut successfully blend the obvious influences on their sound with their own unique talents. That is not to say that the rest of this isn't very listenable, but just to indicate that not a lot of it feels original. Older listeners may feel like they've heard lots of bands like this, but Tay Roebuck's voice and the band's enthusiasm keep Tomorrow Comes Crashing engaging.
Tomorrow Comes Crashing by Smut is out now via Bayonet Records. Details below.
[Photo: Jon Salazar]