At first SMILE seems an inappropriate name for a grunge band. After inspection it completely fits the bill for this particular outfit. An almost instinctive debt to the hard hitters of their home town Reading’s rock festival: Check. Childlike lyrics that are abrasively honest: Yep. A pent up aggression that can only truly articulate itself in wails of guitar feedback: You betchya. A smile is a completely involuntary reaction. In that sense it’s the perfect band name for this five-piece. Not one single note of their debut EP feels like it has been forced or manufactured. In a single word, it’s pure.
Over the duration of 'Closer', this fact is both negative and positive. The title track is a glorious mess of chainsaw fuzz guitars trying to dismantle massive chords that could nearly count as Britpop with their inherent swagger. It’s held together with a superb Teenage Fanclub melody and Madchester shuffle drum beats. The lyrics, when not buried with My Bloody Valentine mumbles, concern a break up. “It’s actually very bitter” says singer Chris Relevitch. “I tried to make it as direct and honest as possible, which ended with me singing the most infantile dumb shit. Stuff that I would probably say if I were drunk, which I was”.
Occasionally it’s great. The scathing dismissal “You’re just a little girl” followed by sighing falsetto backing vocals is near enough heavenly. Then again, just as Relevitch revealed he felt unable to censor or mould his immediate thought processes, the band have the same problem. There are simply too many ideas, too many different sections and worryingly, too many guitar solos for the song to be a real killer blow. The choruses arrive like wonderful moments of clarity but the song loses its initial impact over the five minute duration.
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NIGHTLIFE performs the same trick but with added hypnotic reverse guitar. It’s easy to get lost in the dreamy atmosphere but it’s frustrating not to be able to pick out the lyrics, especially when they appear to be offering something individual and potentially special. “Things will get complicated, you’ll wish we never dated” is a couplet so deliciously throwaway yet seething with venom, in my opinion at least, it could sit comfortably within the second half of Nevermind.
Instead of walls of fuzz, on SWIM the texture is created by an aggressive rhythm guitar. There’s an out of time melody that defies logic to remain catchy. The frank chorus of “Let me swim in your heart forever” is buoyed (excuse the pun) by gorgeous slide guitar. However, again, it never feels focused enough to be a classic. As the grand finale of KARMA COMEDIAN ends with Relevitch’s voice cracking on the mantra “You can love everyone”, sarcastic, pleading and overwhelmed all at the same time, there’s no doubt there’s something utterly brilliant about SMILE. That something needs a little craft and polishing to be truly magnificent.
Listen to Closer by Smile at Bandcamp
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