SMITH WESTERNS - "Dye It Blonde"

Pop music is that tricky genre in music that is so hard to define, yet easy to recognise. Pop music is easy to make, and yet so hard to get right. Pop music nowadays makes people want to grimace and dig up their old 80s pop records. Thank the sweet heavens for Smith Westerns and their second record. A step up in every sense of the word. They caused an excited stir with their self titled debut of glam rock recalling nuggets. It was a youthful record through and through, full of the excitement of making music.
With "Dye It Blonde" they have retained their knack for crafting subtly crooned hooks, but made it sound all together more grand and epic sounding. This doesn't mean you should start hating them, like most Kings Of Leon fans did when "Only By The Night" came out. This means you should embrace them once more with your loving ears. "Dye It Blonde" is such a great leap forward, which they have achieved in such a small time. It's most admirable. Opener "Weekend" lets you know exactly what you are letting yourself in for with it's gorgeous guitar licks and heart warming chorus. They manage to make the record sound very light but with a noticeable emotion driven punch. Highlight "Dance Away" makes damn sure that you're dancing in different directions all across the floor. It changes it's pace various times throughout it's two minute and fourty four seconds of glory. And where their debut borrowed heavily from glam rock, their second effort seems them finding their own musical feet. The guitar skills have only got better and the sparklingly clean production allows for more sounds like piano tinkles and acoustic strums to add more depth. In theses modern days where sex sells everything and penetrates almost all aspects of pop culture, "Dye It Blonde" is a deeply romantic record that aims for the heart and hits bang on target.


RATING: P P P P


TRACK LISTING

1) Weekend
2) Still New
3) Imagine, Pt. 3
4) All Die Young
5) Fallen In Love
6) End Of The Night
7) Only One
8) Smile
9) Dance Away
10) Dye The World


STAND OUT TRACKS: "Weekend", "Dance Away", "End Of The Night"


Released: 2011


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BEST COAST - "Crazy For You"

This album is a treasury of pop nuggets from start to finish. It's simplicity is where the genius lies.

Photography and words by Jack Parker for Power Chord Music Blog. Smith Westerns photograph taken from Google. Nicely done.