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This Is Me Smiling
- This Is Me Smiling
(Vinyl Summer)
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| We all love ‘discovering’ bands before they become huge, even though such discoveries are almost always complete flukes. Well, I reckon I’ve fluked a good one. So quick, buy this album and join me in some group smugness. I don't think we've got long. |
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This Is Me Smiling first came to our attention on Epitaph’s most recent Punk O Rama compilation, where the Chicago outfit’s ‘Mixin’ Up Adjectives’ shone out like a beacon of sun-kissed optimism amongst the largely more serious-minded guitar bands on the roster. It rocks like a well-adjusted Elliott Smith fronting a more sprightly punk-pop band than I can think of just now, before leaping into a classic Ben Folds style piano-led chorus. Full of glorious melodies, harmonies, clever turns and canny flourishes, it is one of those rarest of things – a perfect pop song from start to finish.
Of course, perfect is a subjective concept, and one man’s perfect is another’s piss-poor. But, subjectively speaking, This Is Me Smiling’s eponymous, self-released demo is probably the most perfect American indie-pop album I will hear in a while. I’ve already mentioned Smith and Folds, who are two obvious and easy reference points, but there are also healthy doses of Quasi, the Beatles, Motion City Soundtrack (well, a bit), as well as occasional hints of something darker.
Opener ‘Ephemera’ is just that - a hint. It teases us with a glimpse of what the band can do when they want to get moody, launching from what sounds like the Shins (all sound-of-the-ocean organs and spectral pop guitars) into an instant-shiver epic rock verse somewhere in between Interpol and (when they were decent) Weezer. And then after just 30 seconds of shimmering glory it hits the brakes and ‘Feelin’ the Time Pass By’ waltzes straight in with its sunny Ben Folds chops and handclaps. It’s disorientating, frustrating and sneakily effective at priming us for an album full of more U-turns than a plumbing parts production plant.
From then on you just have to sit back and see what happens. Front man Dan Duszynski’s vocals veer effortlessly from breathy melodrama to sunny West Coast pop and even the occasional emo-growl, while virtuoso pianist Sheldon Miller covers everything from live-wire carnival keyboard flourishes to subtle synth texturing and pounding piano parts. Third and final member Matt Schuessler’s contribution is more subtle, but the bassist forms half of an excellently muscular rhythm section with stand-in drummer Mike Felumlee (from the Smoking Popes) – and it’s this that really sets the band apart from their aforementioned peers. The range on this album is huge, from gentle fireside songsmithery (‘Matter to Matter’) to charming 60s-inflected pop (‘Say What You’re Going To Say’) to edgy, punchy rock (‘Goodbye to Each New Day’), and I only hope they find a permanent replacement to match Felumlee’s considerable skills. Bizarrely, there’s also a few seconds in the instrumental introduction to ‘For When You Don’t Hear it Right’ which sound almost exactly like the title music to the BBC’s cricket coverage.
I like surprises. Hearing ‘Mixin’ Up Adjectives’ on a punk label’s compilation CD was a nice surprise, but hearing it in the context of such a well-realised, varied and confident indie-rock album is an even bigger and better surprise. The biggest surprise of all is that the band still haven’t found themselves a proper record deal (this album has been manufactured by a small indie without distribution) - though don’t be fooled, there’s obviously been some money ploughed into this band from somewhere, so impeccable is the production.
If you do decide to give this album a go (and you really should), then follow the links from their website to buy a copy. Come on, trendsetters, let’s pretend we know a thing or two about music. |
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| Tom Pegg - 9/10 |
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Name:
Scott
| Date:
18/10/05 | Reply
Best Chicago record of the year. Much better than Fall Out Boy!
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Name:
daniel bostjancic
| Date:
20/10/05 | Reply
ive been hereing dan d. play since i was in 4th grade. amazing amazing im so glad other people are seeing it
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Name:
Mike Bowen
| Date:
21/10/05 | Reply
This Is Me Smiling is a true representation of melody in it's best form. There is no way you can't bop your head to it. Listen to a few of their songs a couple times and you'll be hooked.
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Name:
Ian
| Date:
26/10/05 | Reply
This album is one of indie pop/rocks best kept secrets.
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Name:
Grant DeYoung
| Date:
26/10/05 | Reply
For someone who obviously views themselves as extremely knowledgeable about music and "hip" to the indie scene, I was disappointed to see all of your cliche and misguided comparisons of This Is Me Smiling with other artists/bands. In particular, I would be interested to hear you justify your comparison to "a well-adjusted Elliott Smith." (More importantly, what would a "well adjusted" Elliott Smith sound like?) I didn't even get throuhgh all of your review, because your reference to the unbvelievably shitty band Motion City Soundtrack threw me into alternating fits of laughter and vomiting. Next time you review such a great band, try writing about them based on their own merit and not just fill the page with so many bad comparisons that all sense of the band's true sound is lost. I'm not sure I would want to listen to a ElliottSmith/BenFolds/ MotionCitySoundtrack / Weezer/Quasi/Beatles/BBCCricketCoverage sounding Band, and I hope you weren't able to turn off any potential fans from one of the greatest bands I've heard since Sunny Day Real Estate, who they kind of sound like, don't you think?
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Name:
Tom
| Date:
27/10/05 | Reply
Crikey. Ok then, I'll rise to a challenge. 'Well-adjusted Elliott Smith': Well, for a start Mr Duszynski's voice bears a strong stylistic similarity to Smith, particularly during 'Mixing Up Adjectives'. The melodies are as sweet and Beatles-esque as anything from XO, and the harmonies are the icing on the Smith cake. As for the 'well-adjusted' part - it's a cheerful song about falling in love, rather than a bitter ode to heroin addiction and heartbreak from a guy who went on to fall on his sword. Incidentally, on their myspage page This is me Smiling list Elliott Smith at the top of their own list of influences. This is followed closely by Ben Folds, Weezer and the Beatles. There is a vague emo-quality to some of the tracks (particularly the section to a song that begins 'and on my way down...') that reminds me of Motion City Soundtrack's great first album, rather than the over-produced and slightly sickly second one. What does that leave? Oh right, Quasi. Who use boy/girl vocal harmonies almost exactly like those on a couple of tracks here. It only leaves me to say that a) I don't view myself as the slightest bit 'hip' or particularly knowledgeable about 'the music scene' (that 'tastemakers' thing at the end of the review is ironic) and b) this band sounds nothing like Sunny Day Real Estate. Who are over-rated.
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Name:
Will
| Date:
27/10/05 | Reply
Ooh, lively debate! Bring it on. Oh, and come on Tom, you can't expect Americans to get irony.
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Name:
dan
| Date:
28/10/05 | Reply
awesome. fight fight fight! i think tom just pwnd grant though, especially with the myspace bit.
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Name:
Tom
| Date:
28/10/05 | Reply
What does 'pwnd' mean? I don't know my internet jargon. Is it 'power-nelsoned with damage'?
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Name:
Will
| Date:
28/10/05 | Reply
Look here for a concise explanation. I only hope I don't get "zerged" by some "high-rr albs". And God help me if they are doing a "relic take".
Dan, your ironic take on l33tspeak is so ironic it's almost post-ironic.
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Name:
lapula
| Date:
08/12/05 | Reply
great album, i agree. They sound to me in the middle of Weezer and Ben Folds Five. Maybe lacks some 'screaming'.
Worth the purchase.
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Name:
Daisy
| Date:
29/06/06 | Reply
I love this band. Saw this song on youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7dfbpz91ks ) labeled "New Song" which I doubt is the real title. Does anyone here know?
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Name:
Caroline
| Date:
03/12/06 | Reply
This is a great band. I saw them live the other night. They are on tour with The Hush Sound, This Providence, and Murder by Death. Very nice people. I hung out with a few of them after the show was over and had a great time talking. I bought their album and love it. It is definately worth buying. And i don't think that the song in youtube is on their CD.
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Name:
Murray
| Date:
13/03/07 | Reply
swt.
They have the ability of getting stuck in my head for days.
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Name:
Michelle
| Date:
15/01/08 | Reply
I got to interview the band about two years ago and they are as much fun as their music. For their sakes, I hope they keep getting more press. And I agree with Grant, MotionCitysoundtack, really? not nearly as good as TIMS. Also I think Sunny Day Real Estate is a lot more dissonant than TIMS, but also good.
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Melomann
| Date:
19/04/09 | Reply
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