At first, Smith Westerns seemed easy to peg: Chicago prep school teens play garage rock with a glam-rock slant. With 2011’s excellent Dye It Blonde, the group—singer/guitarist Cullen Omari, bass-playing brother Cameron and lead guitarist Max Kakacek (and a rotating cast of drummers)—began to step away from the garage-rock template. But once you’re pegged, you’re pegged, and Smith Westerns still got called a garage-rock band. That should change with Soft Will (Mom + Pop), the band’s third album. Its sunny disposition favors mid-tempo tunes and gentle singing, and it’s loaded with breezy melodies, drenched in reverb and laced with echoes of several eras of Britpop. Smith Westerns will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com. Read our brand new feature on them.
Cameron: I don’t understand why this place has such a bad reputation, but everyone I know refuses to go with me. Just saying the name makes most people feel sick. I don’t get it. It’s affordable, tasty and quick. Plus the chicken planks are probably the best chicken tenders at any fast-food place. All in all it’s a solid fast-food meal, up there with Burger King and Dairy Queen but still behind Popeyes and White Castle. Expand your horizons.
Video after the jump.
