That was never completely true but it became a template for everyone to follow. Like “Beatlesque” or “Morrisonesque” or “Elvis influenced” the sound of the “children of ‘Moz” has become a sound into itself.
The bands in this category likely sound more like each other than they actually sound like the Smiths.
Suede, Echobelly and the Dears all put their spin on the sound over the years, but it may be Gene that most closely evolved into rhetorical new stereotype - 70s art rock influence meet tragic lyrics with pit stops in Punk, Motown, and Guitar Hero riffery.
In the US, the Smoking Popes kept it to its most basic- predating some of the most successful 21st Century rock bands by stripping it to an American punk sound only with a heart-on-his-sleeve lead.
Another American band, Harvey Danger had a Top 40 hit with “Flagpole Sitta” perhaps the most successful chart example. And also perhaps the most Americanized version of the template - crooning over a power pop band with some Green Day style wiseassery.
From the ambitious to the mundane, there always seems to be someone who follows the template, but I have to admit it’s been a few years since one of these bands have caught my ear.
But with 2023s This House is Made of Corners EP, Chicago five piece Brigitte Calls Me Baby stakes out their claim as the next to the coiffed throne.
The EP was produced by Dave Cobb who’s a produced a who’s who in Americana (Isbell, Stapleton, Shooter Jennings, Highwomen, Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson).
Frontman Wes Leavins’s CV includes performing as Elvis in the Million Dollar Quartet and playing on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic.
That means the debt it owes will likely make it a deal breaker for some and an obsession for others.
The five song EP is pretty great though. Staking some claim to the Popes (whose bio includes the band self destructing after being Morrissey tour support) and the Dears (who evolved into so much more than Smiths soundalikes). My excitement builds for a full length.
No comments:
Post a Comment