2014 has without a doubt been the year of The Smith Street
Band for me. After picking up three of their first four releases (Don’t Fuck
With Our Dream, Sunshine and Technology, Nobody Gets Lost Anymore), seeing them
play live three times and falling in love with front man Wil Wagner’s solo
album Laika (reviewed here) I was incredibly excited when their newest album
Throw Me In The River was announced. That feeling of excitement grew even more
when I found out that former Arrogant Sons Of Bitches and Bomb The Music
Industry front man Jeff Rosenstock was on production duties for the release.
Opening track Something I Can Hold In My Hands starts off in
a subdued mood before bursting into life. Wagner’s proud Australian accent sets
out the story over a minimalist musical background before the song slowly gets
more and more explosive. His trademark honest song writing is on display from
the get go as well as he sings about how being in this band makes him feel
right. “Every Inch Of Me Is Always Itching Unless I’m On Stage” sums it up
beautifully. This song is followed seamlessly by the lead single from the album
Surrender. I really enjoyed how the song followed on perfectly from Something I
can Hold In My Hands, clearly a lot of thought has been put into the running
order on the album. In Surrender you have everything you would expect from a
Smith Street Band song, strong, witty and honest lyrics with an insanely catchy
chorus that will have a crowd singing at the top of their lungs. The song has a
fantastic message to boot, telling the listener “You Don’t Have To Surrender,
If You Don’t Want To.” A brilliant rallying cry about always following your
dreams. The intro to the next song really makes me want to jump up and down
before Wil’s vocal appears. The delivery is fast and to the point before
slowing it down for a defiant chorus. Calgary Girls is a more delicate slowed
down track about a good relationship that couldn’t last. Musically the song is
more restrained and deliberate with most of the focus being on Wagner’s story
like lyrics. I won’t lie, I’m more of a fan of the play fast and loud style of
songs but songs like this really grab my attention, absolutely brilliant song.
One song I was particularly looking forward to hearing was
East London Summer, the band played it during their gig supporting the
Menzingers at the beginning on October and I was blown away. It got me
wondering if the song title is an ode toward their friends Apologies I Have None’s
song Sat In Vicky Park which features the line “Give Me East London Summer.”
The song is and big and bold rock anthem similar to Don’t Fuck With Our Dream.
Next up is one of the songs that really caught my attention when I was reading
the track listing. It’s named The Arrogance Of The Drunk Pedestrian and really
showcases what The Smith Street Band do brilliantly. The songs start off quietly
and at a slow pace while Wagner thoughtfully sings about a seedy drunken
underworld before his voice slowly gets angrier and the song gets heavier and
turns into a full scale rock and roll assault. Credit has to go to Lee Hartney,
Chris Cowburn and James “Fitzy” Fitzgerald who perform their roles in this song
and the entire album perfectly; it really is no longer Wil Wagner and The Smith
Street Band.
I really enjoyed what they did on track seventh on the
album, Get High, See No One. Long time fans of the band will notice the
similarity between this title and the title Get High, See Mice from No One Gets
Lost Anymore. I loved that the songs start similarly as well, almost feels like
the band have put in a little Easter egg for their old school fans. There is a
great amount of bitterness in the following track I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore.
This song follows a more formulaic pop song structure with verses followed by a
hook filled chorus; it’s another stand out song. It’s Alright, I Understand is
a rollercoaster ride of the song taking the listener on a number of highs and
lows throughout the song. I think this song could be a sleeper on the album, it’s
absolutely brilliant but may not get the love that it deserves. Title track
Throw Me In The River is a song jam packed with raw emotion. It’s impossible
not to get caught up in the song, especially with the huge raucous chorus that
will leave you with a lump in your throat. Throw Me In The River is a very
special song. The album concludes with I Love Life. This is a song that could
be split into three separate parts. The intro, which is a fast paced punk rock
jam with Wil’s punchy vocals carrying the melody whilst he sings about how
lucky he feels to live the life he leads. The second part of the song is an
instrumental section which builds into a final joyous verse complete with
whoa-ohs. I can see I Love Life becoming a closing song in their live set for
years to come.
I had really high expectations for Throw Me In The River and
it exceeding every single one of them. I can see this album being the release that
breaks The Smith Street Band. A whole new fan base will appear for these Aussie
lads and it’s well deserved, everyone NEEDS to hear their music. It’s well
written, incredibly honest and will have you singing for days. I feel so blessed
that I’ve had the opportunity to see them in small venues such as TheFighting
Cocks and The Black Heart. I can see that the next time they visit our shores
they will be playing in venues twice as big. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if
2015 is also the year of The Smith Street Band.
Buy Throw Me In The River here: http://www.banquetrecords.com/KT1-047;jsessionid=5CBAFC5811C7BDD00B6133DCF53AEB3E
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