If you are sick of studio albums of Bruce Springsteen, and you are looking for something similar but more powerful, The Smith Street Band have been panacea over the past couple of years. The Smith Street Band are all Gaslight Anthem never managed to be - a band who transformed tradition of The Boss into full blooded rock numbers with strong presence of punk. The final result are plethora of rock killer anthems with big choruses and morale that everyone should acknowledge.
This is their fourth album and they are still bringing their A game. Their energy crushes everything in front of them, and the lyrics are in heavenly harmony with melodies. When I hear that almost every song has memorable choruses, I am left yearning to see them live. Everytime I listen to The Smith Street Band, I have a feeling that everything is coming from the heart. No inhibitions, no hesitations. They have an idea, they upgrade it with production and then create a collection of songs that you just can't throw out of your music player. The vocal is everything. It resembles Frank Turner, especially in the segments when the Australian singer screams. It is impossible to imagine more suitable interpretation of this type of songs.
Opening Forest is best described as "wooo" that follows first chorus. Heavy, epic melody with massive chorus requires additional vent, and the scream contributes to the frenetic atmosphere. Forest is connected with Birthday, a track that served as a single, in which the frontman deals with the onsets of love relationships. Punk diamond. Death To The Lads could emerge as a hymn of a generation (at least in Australia), while mellifluous ballad about love fools, Passion, dominates the middle section of the record with verses And I am absolutely infinitely more scared of you than you are of me/ And I've always been the one who cares too much. Another standout is one of the singles, Shine, that simply captivates you from the go.
More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me is one of those albums that you need to hear, whether you are a fan or Springsteen or not. Younger generations can identify with growing pains the lead singer struggles with, while the older ones can simply enjoy mesmerizing rock-punk. The King Gizzard and Lizard Wizzard, and The Smith Street Band are two hottest thunders from down under. At least at this moment.
