Fat Possum; 2011
Solid - 7.0
There is something special about the youthful exuberance that Smith Westerns' pack into their music (band members range in age from 18 to 20); borrowed and reworked sounds of the 60's, garage fuzz, headbanging riffs and a slightly psychedelic tilt-- Dye It Blonde has it all.
On first listen however, they sounded a lot like many of the other next-hot-thing bands shaking up the blogosphere (not that it is necessarily a bad thing). In particular, I could here Girls, Tame Impala and Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin in their music; Girls with the recycling of 60's sounds, vocals comparable to Tame Impala, and the pure pop prowess in a similar vein as SSLYBY. Frankly, bands like these aren't terrible to be compared to, that said, the record isn't just a borrowing of sounds from the past or a likeness to the bands contemporaries. It is a fun album filled with soaring choruses, hooky guitar, and moments of extreme catharsis.
It isn't a flawless record, "Weekend" sets the bar high, and after 5 or 6 spins, it is still the song I find myself playing the most. The guitars start to slur at points, solos sound similar from track to track and the tone is almost unanimously constant. This sometimes adds to an albums cohesion, but with this record, it makes the songs drag into one another. Regardless, it is a fun album largely without filler.
The lo-fi vibe of their debut is mostly left behind-- the tracks on Dye It Blonde are more polished without sounding "grown up". A greater budget and classier studio production account for the more mature sound, but without doubt, this is the same group of kids we first heard in 2009, ones that are excited to be playing music, and above all, excited to be alive.
Time for just one?
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