Smug Brothers have become the mark of quality. Every album from the quartet is like an urgent debut album. The 2020s have been especially wonderful for them. 2023's In The Book Of Bad Ideas was in our Top 20 Albums Of The Year.
It was an album that provided the Listening To This Week Playlist with constant material. You can read the review here. I stupidly thought that that album would never be bettered by them, yet here we are with them doing exactly that.
There is a real swagger here as though the band know just how good they are and are waiting for everyone to catch up. They are without doubt a Guitar band, riff after riff just grabs you. They are equally excellent at the Angular as they are at Jangle Pop, but they are not afraid of noise, nor edging into Psych.
The arrangements are awesome, blowing you away. they add surprises such as adding Sax courtesy of Bass Player, Kyle Sowash and turning Cheers To Everything We Used To Do into a Baroque Pop joy. That is a song that mixes Brit Pop with Psych Pop splendidly.
Sidetrack Ghosts is the nearest that you will get to pure Guitar Pop with a Clash like intro that leads into something poptastic. Arcade Strange is pure Psych Pop and yet Prank Editions stays in the genre with something noisy, 100 mph and totally riffaholic.
There is also the Jangle Pop excellence of Paper Jane and X-Ray Is Everywhere benefits from a top notch instrumental Rock Out. The Noise Rock of Flushing James is another surprise direction. It is however, the noisier riff driven songs that grab me most, always up my street.
Bands are supposed to be great at the beginning and provide diminishing returns as they age. There's a real argument against that theory here. This is how great Guitar led Indie Rock is supposed to be. This album will go far beyond the Top 20 at the end of the year.
You can listen to and buy the album here, It is available on CD and as a download.
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