Free Friday: Smug Brothers – “On The Way To The Punchline”

Hot on the heels of the excellent Strictly Triggers EP – just released in January - Smug Brothers, the Dayton indie rock band led by Kyle Melton and featuring Brian Baker and Don Thrasher (Guided By Voices, Swearing At Motorists) returned this week with the release of their new album, On The Way To The Punchline.  Available as a name-your-price download via the Gas Daddy Go Records Bandcamp page, it is also available on limited edition cassette, making it the band’s first physical release in their decade-long existence.  The self-produced and recorded album was mixed and mastered with the appropriate amount of polish and grit by Darryl Robbins (Guided By Voices, Motel Beds).            

“Guest Not A Passenger” opens the album with a propulsive rhythm and winding guitars before standout single, “It Was Hard To Be A Team Last Night” offers up a chugging slice of British Invasion-inspired power-pop for a nice one-two punch.  As a change of pace, “Over And Outside” offers up some pretty acoustic guitars and close knit vocal harmonies.  The super-catchy Guided By Voices-like “A Thing For English” quickly follows with guitars both jangly and twisty for another standout moment.  Opening with haunting guitar ambience, “St. Paul At The Helm Of Wyoming” slowly builds into a noise-addled take on 90’s slacker rock with tumbling drums and frenetic guitar riffs.  Another standout on the twelve-track album is the single, “Quick To Illustrate January” with its infectiously bouncy rhythm and memorable GBV-loving melodies.    

With their stellar new album, On The Way To The Punchline, Dayton’s Smug Brothers prove once again that they belong in the Gem City’s hallowed halls of lo-fi indie rock.                

Download On The Way To The Punchline here:

http://gasdaddygo.bandcamp.com/album/gdg-010-on-the-way-to-the-punchline-cs

For more info: https://www.facebook.com/smugbros