The Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde

Ever since the dawn of the radio, certain band's have played the proverbial playlist of the teenagers around them. The 1960's had a band that was as starry eyed and revolutionary as the teenagers themselves. That band was the Beatles. The 70's, the most diverse of any decade, had bands like Led Zeppelin, Jackson Browne, Simon & Garfunkel, Boston, James Brown, and Queen all representing their respective audiences;The 80's; Van Halen, The 90's; Nirvana. It's hard to really put a thumb on the last ten years, but the attitudes of bands like Korn, Beyonce, Fall Out Boy, and Kanye West have all hit a nerve and struck the awe of many.

Yeah, the 2000's kind of sucked.

So, am I saying that The Smith Westerns are that band for today? No, not at all. In the least pretentious way posible, you've probably never heard of them, and in all honesty, you most likely never will again. However, the more I run through tracks like "Still New" and "End Of Night", the more I think about how well this music applies to my generation (my my my my generation).

I suppose I am referring to the hipper than though culture in particular. Yes, this goes out to everyone who has ever bought a bike just so they could roll their pants up to their calf, or stared at the sun until you had to have thick rimmed glasses (because wearing fakes is trying too hard). These hipsters, like The Smith Westerns, have modest dreams, but they never tend to let reality get the best of them. They are very grounded. They find humor in what is real, not what is imagined; "ironic" is thrown around the same amount of times as "the" and "hello". It is a very introspective culture that thrives on what is real, even if the nay-sayers think their heads are in the clouds. If it sounds confusing, it's because it is.

Dye It Blonde is a constant shoe-gazing struggle between releasing and with-holding emotions. "God, it's a waste of time, but the sun still shines, and it shines for you", pleads 18 year old singer Cullen Omori. This ambiguous claim is romantic, but romantic in the sense that there's a lot of pessimism behind that claim. At the same time, the band has constructed a hazy soundscape that is as harsh as it is beautiful. The guitar lick on the opening track, "Weekend", raggedly cuts to the bone, but it's also maintaining the songs fluidity. It's as non-conforming as the kids nowadays.

One of the albums singles, "Imagine Pt. 3", bounces as heavily as the bridge in Arcade Fire's "Wake-Up", but every once in a while, the rhythm dips out of the be-bop and cuts in half, completely losing its structure, only to materialize again, seconds later. It's brilliant. This swinging motion carries through until the end, when that swing snaps, and leaves you flying off in the distance. Once again, Cullen is spouting both praise and hell-fire towards his love, all while picturing a perfect world that the girl keeps tearing down. It's probably my favorite track of the year thus far.

Another thing to note about Dye It Blonde is it's sly trek through multiple genres. The obvious standout being 60's garage rock, the band manages to also test its chops in some gleaming moments of glam rock, punk (slightly), and even a bit of hair metal. Ok, so the last one might be a bit of a stretch, but when I saw these guys at a bar downtown a few weeks ago, the piano break in "End Of The Night" left me dying to start screaming, "IT'S AS COLD AS ICE." Moment's like that make this band special. While they may not ever get near the fame the famous mop-top crew ever achieved, their music is iconic for me. Even if that time is right now.

I wish I could say more about this album, but it's one of those cases where it just works. It's too good for me to describe successfully. Listen to it. Experience it. Let it affect you. Let The Smith Western's struggle connect to yours. At the very least, go buy a fake mustache and some Pabst.