Album Review: Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face by The Smith Street Band

Last week Australia’s The Smith Street Band sprung a surprise on their fans. Just a few months after the release of the epic Throw Me In The River (reviewed here) they released some new music in the form of a single titled Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face. I’m the first to admit I’m not especially knowledgeable on politics in the UK so my knowledge of Australian politics is non-existent. The Smith Street Band wrote on their Facebook page about the song saying that “This song’s about something we’re fiercely concerned with – Our government’s dehumanising stance on refugees and the empty promises of our current government in general.” The song has been released to help assist the people who put together the Australia Day shows in Melbourne. For those not in the know (including me until five minutes ago) Australia Day is national holiday that every year celebrates the diverse society and landscape of the nation. A large portion of the money made from the single will be donated to various asylum seeker and refugee organisations throughout Australia.

From the very start of Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face you get a sense of desperation and suffering from Wil Wagner’s unmistakable vocals. Those vocals combined with a solemn guitar tone really make you feel the emotion of the song from the very start. Of course, this is a Smith Street Band song so this leads into nice slow build up before a huge finale. As ever Wil’s lyrics are as honest as ever and really cut through the bone. Lyric’s such as “So Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face, These People Are Human Beings That You’ll Destroy And Displace” and “Cause That’s Some Fucking Evil Shit, Politicizing Killing Kids” really make you stop and think. Leaving out the politics this is one hell of a song, add the importance of the politics in and you’ve got something quite special and will hopefully have something that will encourage a positive change.

The other song on this single is called God In The Name Of The Father. The vocals at the beginning of this song really catch the attention as Wil sings in a bouncy pop like fashion. This carries the melody of the opening part of the song before an unrestrained and passionate Wil let’s everything go. This song in typical Smith Street fashion takes you on a series of musical ups and downs and show just what a talented group of musicians these guys are.

Buy a physical copy of the record here: http://www.poisoncityestore.com/ where a chunk of the profits from every record will be donated.

Stream and buy the digital version here https://thesmithstreetband.bandcamp.com/album/wipe-that-shit-eating-grin-off-your-punchable-face and ALL of the proceeds will be donated.