Artist: Smith Westerns

Album: Dye It Blonde

Okay folks, today we are going to rock with some guys from my sweet home Chicago! Smith Westerns are definitely a band that shocked me when I first heard them a couple years ago. I was so hung up on the album Dye It Blonde that it was all I could listen to for weeks. These boys are spot on!

What’s so remarkable is that they were teenagers when they released their first album; though it’s pretty lo-fi, it’s still impressive. You will be hearing a lot of these guys in the near future if you haven’t already. Talent like this doesn’t happen everyday.

It’s one thing to start a band, but it’s another to invent a band and sound that is so fascinating and exquisite! Smith Westerns embody such an innocent sound with a feeling of youth and of bashful flirting. The sound bounces around and drives you to recall the days of when you listened to music just for the sake of listening to music.

Dye It Blonde‘s sound is absolutely vibrant, with the feel of summer’s setting sun on your skin while driving with the car windows down and tunes cranked up. Track after track, it kicks up an aching desire to sway.

I can’t help but half-smile and experience constant cheerful comfort during this album. Hearing it is like strong nicotine: once it starts you can’t stop the addiction. I am fascinated by how quickly it grabs you and how long it holds you. If that’s not enough, its melodies and lyrics are so ridiculously catchy that you will bop your head for days and inescapably come back for more!

One of the things I was so captivated by was the T.REX style Smith Westerns have created (I am kind of a T.REX fanatic). I was so overwhelmed by their likeness. Then, after learning how young these guys are, my faith in the youth of America completely rekindled. I know there’s hope when geniuses like these guys have created such a profound style. I still am in disbelief.

All I have to say is that I hung out with a few local bands in my day, and none were this impressive. If they had been, I would have been the wide-eyed, super obsessed, quiet girl hiding behind the garage, possessed by an ethereal sound.

If there is one band I have discovered recently that deserves to go places, it’s these guys. I give Dye It Blonde 9.5 out of 10. I can’t help it! Smith Westerns have bewitched me! I hope this wasn’t too much nerding out for you to handle. If you are as impressed by them as me, then support the band. Keep your eyes and ears open because these guys are going places!

As always, tune in next week for yet another album review where I will undoubtedly drive you nuts with my fixation.