Smith Westerns – All Die Young

Contributed by Christopher Gedos

My only really polished skill is my ability to make sweeping generalizations about the state of people, places and things. So take it with no small grain of salt when I proclaim that Smith Western’s “All Die Young” is one of the representative songs of this the year 2011. It’s not indie pop but rather plain old pop music, music meant to be heard by the masses lest capitalist hogs and lowest common denominators bully their way through the back door. The effortlessness, the long build to the chorus, it’s dream pop at the expense of the dream and nerd rock at the expense of the nerd. It’s Beach Boys circa ‘71 had Brian Wilson never cracked. A beautiful lake-effect blowing in off the shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago’s Smith Westerns.

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Rating: 8.7

Reviewed by b3