#Smug Brothers

[dustedmagazine]

Smug Brothers — Another Bar Behind the Night (Anyway /Just Because)

If you’re reading this, you’re likely familiar with the concept of the three-minute pop song. It’s a concept that Columbus, Ohio’s Smug Brothers know very well; visiting their Discogs or Bandcamp pages reveals a vast discography that specializes in songs that manage to be earnest yet world-weary. And this time around, via the EP Another Bar Behind the Night, they’re showing off their efficient side. Opener “Javelina Nowhere” clocks in at 2:32, and in the context of this EP, that basically makes it this album’s “Echoes”/”Sheets of Easter”/”Marquee Moon.” (Alternately: it’s the long one.)

Last year’s In the Book of Bad Ideas was a sublime distillation of this band’s strengths, a slightly off-kilter indie rock record that channels decades of power-pop history and keeps things ever-so-slightly weird. Another Bar Behind the Night is a fine follow-up even as it finds the quartet engaging in both full-on big choruses and occasionally stripped-down moments.

To put it another way, if In the Book of Bad Ideas was a full-on rock album, Another Bar Behind the Night showcases this band’s penchant for evoking very particular moods through their music. “Alexander for Two” subtly uses a melancholic keyboard part to create a kind of late-night nocturnal sensibility, while the punchy “Cricket Blessings” spends its brief running time almost — but not quite — surging into a cut-time rave-up.

Opener “Javelina Nowhere” is honestly worth the price of admission all its own, with singer/guitarist Kyle Melton’s plea to “Take the seaside inside” the sort of lyrical image that turns over in your head long after he’s uttered it. The addition of guitarist Ryan Shaffer to the group’s lineup makes for some memorable riffs as well; when I interviewed Melton last month, he hailed Shaffer’s guitar work on “Shedding Polymer,” an opinion I’m happy to co-sign.

Is there something in the Ohio landscape that lends itself to compelling yet eccentric indie rock bands? There’s a lineage there dating back at least to The Mice — and probably before. Smug Brothers aren’t reinventing indie rock as we know it, but they are very good at what they do,and if you appreciate memorable hooks delivered with plenty of personality, these six songs are a great entry point to their discography.

Tobias Carroll

[artjipson]

Faves of 2023: Smug Brothers - In The Book of Bad Ideas

As we continue to pause and reflect on some amazing music from this year, we turn to an amazing local band. Smug Brothers, the indie rock veterans hailing from Dayton, Ohio, returned with their highly anticipated 2023 album, “In The Book of Bad Ideas.” Known for their eclectic sound and thought-provoking lyrics, the band has consistently pushed the boundaries of indie rock, and their latest…

[indietapes]

Smug Brothers - Javelina Nowhere (Indie Rock)

🕑 1 min / Text: Adrian Release Date: May 17, 2024 This tune literally feels like an old Beatles record with a strong feeling of nostalgia. Jangly guitars meet vibrant drums and expressive vocals, creating a warm and authentic vintage soundscape. All I can say is that I absolutely enjoyed listening to Smug Brothers' latest release 'Javelina Nowhere,' a smooth but also driving indie rock track with a fabulous lofi feel. Check out the preview below - hope you dig it too! Stream: https://open.spotify.com/track/1NiE1CbchKjzEXJBEBcn4F Follow: https://www.instagram.com/smugbrothers/ ✔️ Available on our Indie Playlist on Spotify.

[arthursfuckinghat]

This scene has a special place in my heart, Lenny trying to be independent and prove himself and Big Brother Arthur not having any of it (rightly so)

[zrllosyn-art]

Pocket hoshinyas! From this morning but colored in a lil bit (th idea is mainly from th kn8 discord, thank u all for fueling this lmao)

[asmilinghopelessromantic]

Anthony: Colin let me give you some advice

Colin: don't fuck it up like you did?

Anthony: ah, yeah that's about right

Colin: Anthony help, I fucked it up

[florsial]

Sirius' birthday party except it's Regulus trying to smash his big brother's face into the cake every minute. He always has a large slice of chocolate cake in hand with a smug smile, Sirius's eyes darting back and forth at every conversation, torn between the person he is talking to and Regulus's smug smile and the looming threat of chocolate cake.

At the end of the night, he thinks he's safe so when Sirius and Regulus go in for a hug, that's when Regulus pushes the plate into Sirius' face.

[winterline13-art]

Side quest

He has a side quest for u if ur interested

[moostelid]

Prompt: Just before the events of the Liyue Archon quest, a toddler who is very obviously a de-aged Morax attaches himself to a very oblivious Tartaglia. Hilarity ensues when Childe (himbo that he is) doesn't recognize the toddler and fruitlessly attempts to reunite the tot with his (dead) parents so he can go seek out Morax.

OR

A baby dragon’s logic was flat-out feral in its simplicity: I like it, so it is mine. It is mine, so I will defend it.

At least, that was how it was explained to Childe by the nice old woman at the tea place. Of course, it still didn't explain why a random Liyuan toddler with cute, nubby little horns and a fluffy lizard tail was clinging onto him with the force of a thousand suns.

He liked kids—adored them even—but this was quite inconvenient for him. After all, the tot kept scaring away his targets! How was he supposed to find Morax like this?

[zibiscusloon]

“ P H I L I P ! ! ! “

Objective: Survive Evelyn

Hint: You can’t.

[monarchamos]

thinking abt an au where dazai convinces chuuya to ditch the pm and join the ada and he gives chuuya his trench coat bc "its tradition for new recruits to receive a piece of clothing from the person who brought them in"

also chuuya totally has to hem it and it STILL is nearly floor-length and he has to actually tie its belt and it goes off his shoulders (yk like that one official art that everyone loves you know the one)

dazai's like “chuuya you dont actually have to wear it if it really is too big we literally have a 21 cm height diff i understand”

but chuuya is so adamant on wearing it bc its the first sign he's gone into the light and it reminds him of detective murase and its a gift from dazai he can't just not wear the oversized trench coat

UPDATE: I drew it

[dustedmagazine]

Smug Brothers — In the Book of Bad Ideas (Anyway)

Photo by Emily Farmer

Smug Brothers kick up a jangly, tuneful racket, with brash power chords and sweetly rueful lyrics, battering drums and liquid flourishes of guitar.  The band hails from Columbus, Ohio, where such artistic endeavors are something of a specialty. You can hear more than a hint of Guided by Voices in the bashed out romanticism of “Let Me Know When It’s Yes,” but also all the pillars of raucous but yearning power pop, Big Star, the Replacements, Teenage Fanclub and the Posies. 

The band is centered around guitarist and singer Kyle Melton, a songwriter nearly as prolific as Uncle Bob; he admits to writing more than 100 songs in one year.  Don Thrasher, the drummer (excellent name, by the way), has held down beats in Swearing at Motorists and Guided by Voices, while Kyle Sowash, the bass player, has his own pretty excellent power pop band, the Kyle Sowashes.  Scott Tribble plays lead guitar.  They are, judging from the photo, all well past the rash days of youth, but they come with the enthusiasm and zero fucks of a much younger group. 

The beauty arrives when big swooning melodies burst out of chaos and aggression, as when the gorgeous chorus of “Since the First Time I Heard You Laugh” lifts like a psychedelic jet plane out of blustery drum fills and slashing, crashing guitars.  A similar thing happens in “Mistaken for Stars,” possibly the most GBV-ish of all of these songs.  Like a good Pollard tune, it bristles with distortion and rages with abandon, yet somehow the clean lines of a song shine through. 

You will know right away if you’re in or out.  The kind of music Smug Brothers make is not exactly fashionable—and it’s been a good 20 years since lo-fi garage pop had much role in the music discourse.  But if you like this sort of thing, In the Book of Bad Ideas is a good one, a buzzy, heady, instantly memorable reminder of what rock and roll once meant to us.   

Jennifer Kelly

[artjipson]

Favorites of 2023: Just the List

This time of the year every music writer’s fancy turns to the ubiquitous quest for the best of/favorites of the year. We start with a list of albums and singles we played on YTAA at least three or four times. Then we consider what songs and records slipped into our consciousness and we spent more time simply thinking about that song, that album — those words. If there is a pattern to what we…

[ilov3b00kss0much]

My brother just turned to me and said, "How much wood could a chilchuck chuck if a chilchuck could chuck wood?" and I'm dying

[swordy-da-goat]

I’d like to imagine that Shiny’s actually much buffer than he looks like. Just KOs Thunder.

[acidbathpuppy]

I don't think I ever posted my rocky horror drag look (raising money for local pride)