The Smith Street Band stay firm in punk footholds while appealing to a wider audience
The Smith Street Band
More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me
FILE UNDER: Modern melodic punk
ROCKS LIKE: Against Me!, Billy Bragg, the Flatliners
WHAT'S DIFFERENT: Not much, honestly, but it doesn’t matter. Though they’ve rubbed shoulders with rambling, modern emo wordsmiths (cf. the Front Bottoms, Modern Baseball), the Smith Street Band ride a nice line between that world of quirky, earnest deliveries and more antagonistic, Fest-style punk with smart, flexible songwriting and bravado.
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me has its footholds in classic punk and Billy Bragg’s fiery, rambling shout, but is presented in an egalitarian way that any modern punk or emo kid can get behind. “Death To The Lads” sounds like a wink to Joyce Manor’s “Derailed”; the snarling “Suffer” has a bombastic intro that would make A Place To Bury Strangers blush and “25” is a highlight so desperate, one can see the cracks in Wagner’s voice.
OUR PICK: “25”
