Just when you thought that Los Angeles was no longer spawning any great bands, Smug (http://www.smugband.com) shows up to crash the party. Completely ignoring all of the recent alternative-rock trends, from emo to pop-punk to retro New Wave, Smug are obnoxious, funny as hell, and 100% pedal-to-the-floor nuts. I love this group. Do you hear me, world? I fucking love this band.
Smug are punk in the truest sense of the word. On "Freshly Stained," the group is completely unpredictable, veering from Damned-styled '77 rave-ups like "Passing You By" (the Stranglers would've killed for this tune) to Minutemen-ish punk-funk such as "3 States 6 Days 1200 Miles" to Devo-esque craziness like "It's Me." Vocalist/bassist Bret Helm is really a character, something that punk hasn't seen since the Golden Age of quirky icons like Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys and John Lydon of the Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd., whom Helm played bass for during a tour in the mid-'80s.
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Besides Helm's colorful personality and wickedly witty lyrics, what distinguishes Smug from their competition is how they play their instruments. These are honest-to-God musicians able to rock raggedly as on "Passing You By" or confusing us with the soft/loud/soft/loud pattern of "Those That Gave Them Their Name." Insane! And brilliant, too!
Picking up a single dominant tune is nearly impossible because every track has a vast degree of strength. Nevertheless, "Shoulda Wrote a Ballad" has to be pointed out for its ingenious way of first satirizing alternative rockers for selling out with the Adult Contemporary staple but then becoming a moving (albeit drunken) love song itself! If you were in a band this good, wouldn't you be Smug as well? Best punk album of the year, by far.
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