Album Review – How The Light Felt by Smut (2022) (Bayonet Records)
As an ode to the jangly guitar pop of the 90s, this How The Light Felt debut album by Chicago’s quintet Smut provides something of an all-encompassing guide to the best female-fronted acts of the era.
As such, the album’s more languid beauty can be heard in the sweet, swirling jangle-pop of tracks such as After Silver Leaves, Let Me Hate, and Unbroken Thought, which are everything The Bangles, The Voice of the Beehive, and The Cranberries offered 90s guitar-pop.
Similarly, Believe You Me and the title track benefit from a reduction of tempo and a Blake Babies/Juliana Hatfield style luscious slacker pop to offer moments of precious emotionality.
The best of the album, however, takes a slight detour towards 90s jangly indie-pop with tracks like Supersolar, Janeway, and Person of Interest, coursing fragile The Sundays-style jangled riffs through dreamy retro production techniques that hint at the more muscular end of dream-pop.
Great to see some of the finest female fronted acts becoming the inspiration for some of the best modern guitar pop around.
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Haven’t seen a reference to Voice of the Beehive in years!
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Such a great band live as well and could jangle with the best of them when they reduced the tempo !
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