Every band deals with the pitfalls of maturity eventually, but musical puberty can be especially difficult for indie rock critical darlings… Just ask MGMT or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Soft Will, the recently released third album from Chicago trio Smith Westerns, shows the group softening its sound, which now seems more grounded in a mid-2000s pop-rock mentality than any of their grittier past work.
Out with garage rock Nuggets, and in with Phoenix-esque vocals and synths: With Smith Westerns an established act now, that apparently means slower tempos, and a much cleaner production than even their last album, Dye It Blonde. The overdriven, raw sound of the 2009 self-titled album is long gone, in case you’re been waiting patiently for a retread.
Soft Will opens slowly with “3am Spiritual,” showcasing melodies no longer buried beneath layers of fuzz. The song’s a slow-builder that seems to want to get loud and rough, but instead stays alarmingly cute after opening up. Once the band gets going together, the track morphs into something resembling Oasis attempting a Flaming Lips cover. Especially towards the end, tiny fragmented traces of Dark Side of the Moon and Abbey Road float in through what otherwise seems like run-of-the-mill indie radio. Don’t be fooled by any Lips-style effects in the echoes and reverberations: Smith Westerns are playing it safe this go-around, leading to a pretty predictable release.
The second track, “Idol” is utterly forgettable, so let’s move on to the third song, the faster-paced “Glossed.” The Westerns are starting to rock here slightly, even if in a way that could still be described as ‘cute.’ At least the song has an interesting vocal hook, and twangy texture to the sound; I reckon it’d be fun to watch performed live, where it could exist minus some of the silly synths and whitewashed production.
Next up is “XXIII,” a spacey, slow minor piano and synth instrumental jam. Someone better tell Roger Waters, as this leans heavily on “Great Gig In the Sky” sans the awesome female singer. While still an enjoyable diversion from the straightforward pop of the majority of the album, it does have the effect of reinforcing said poppiness. I still can’t quite shake the feeling this song was put here to justify all the cuteness thus far, even though I like it.
With the next track “Fool Proof”, the band finds itself back in the pop groove. The song moves along steadily like “Glossed” – unobjectionable, yet also unremarkable. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, my mind’s telling I’ve heard this before on the radio a few years ago. Following this is “White Oath” which (surprise) starts poppy. James Mercer’s vocal influence can be seen radiating in, for sure; leaving room for gentle guitar soloing in between his cooing vocal lines, lead singer Cullen Omari sings a chorus of “I’m trying to catch / My breath” over and over, eventually switching to a higher falsetto.
I found myself hoping the Westerns would shake up the formula a bit as the album progressed, but I guess its hard to punish a band for consistency. “Only Natural” finds the Shins entering the building again, but this time with better stutter step drums and a catchier bass line compared to most of the songs so far; certainly a respectable track that could make a good single. “Best Friend” offers additional twang without truly coming alive, and the similarly slow-paced “Cheer Up” doesn’t do much besides continue with the pop theme.
Lead single “Varsity” closes the album on a solid note, despite being part of the same ‘pretty yet underwhelming’ mold. The pieces are all present, but it just doesn’t add up to a coherent statement: the layered vocals are hovering, cooing at me, the guitars and synths are floating there too – yet it all seems to offer less than the sum of its parts. You can still imagine it in a commercial selling Hondas or something, though.
Whether Smith Westerns continue ‘softening’ their sound remains to be seen; all in all, Soft Will is a passable record for the background hum of this summer, but it’s not challenging enough to be destined for great things.