Published on Aug 1, 2001
Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to give you an official
“Daily Vault” First. With no concern for my own safety, I’m about
to give a good grade to a CD that includes a track that I’m
convinced caused sanity damage the first time I heard it. More
about that in a moment.
Washington, DC’s Smartbomb has a career of opening for bands
that are just about to make it big. At various times, they’ve
opened for Smashmouth, Fuel, Matchbox 20, and Our Lady Peace. Goes
to show you there’s no justice, as Smartbomb deserves to be big
themselves. Their latest CD,
Yeah, Well, Anyway…,is definitely worth a good, long look
for fans of straight, uncomplicated punk-tinged rock.
They’re a tight quartet with more hooks that a pirate convention
and harmonies reminiscent of the Beatles. Lead vocalist Chuck
Andrada reminds me a bit of Elvis Costello after a case of Jolt;
the expressive voice and capacity for irony is the same, but the
energy is much brighter. Musically, they’re excellent; the twin
guitars of Andrada and Steve Augustine lay down a powerful fabric
over the steady, thrumming bass of Scott Brotemarkle and the
insistent beat of drummer Derrick Decker. The production on the CD
is adequate, never detracting from the sound, crisp and clear.
(Oh, no, the Bad Mind Track is coming on the CD player. No, no,
no….mommy…)
Their songwriting is what really lifts Smartbomb above the
normal crop of punk/alternative hybrids. Songs like “Movie Of The
Week”, “Acetylene”, “Hysterical Inside Joke”, and “Out Of Hand”
combine a hard rock sensibility with incisive lyrics and powerful
playing. Even more notable are “Exactly Where You Are” and “Down”,
both of which highlight eerie, almost discordant minor harmonies,
and the almost-swing “Homecoming”. “Ordinary Star”, the album’s
bittersweet close, leaves a brief chill in the air like an October
wind.
Then….there’s The Song.
O Faithful DV Readers, imagine our reviewer at his desk, early
in the morning, half-asleep in gym shorts and a torn tee-shirt,
blinking myopically at his screen. Then, like the slow surface of
some eldritch swamp thing, the realization comes to his
consciousness that the song he is currently hearing is a
lightning-fast punk-rock cover of Faith Hill’s “Breathe”.
This
, ladies and gents, is wrong… and a whole hell of a lot of
fun.
Smartbomb’s
Yeah, Well, Anyway… is one heck of a fine CD. It’s an
injustice that no one has opened for Smartbomb right before they
went big. Shall we change that?