It took me a while to get into this album, not because it’s a ‘difficult’ listen, not because it’s uninviting or complex, and not because it’s a different musical genre to what I normally listen to. It took me a while to get into this album quite simply because the first track on the record is so completely addictive. I couldn’t get past it for about a week, playing it over and over again without any of its majestic brilliance starting to dwindle.
The early explosion of radiance and gleam created during opening track ‘Weekend’ disperses its way across the rest of Dye It Blonde throwing up euphoric bursts of guitar, astonishing solos and densely layered melody which drive the whole album.
Smith Westerns have been frank about what music inspired them during the making of their second album. Suede, Oasis and Teenage Fanclub and T. Rex are all present here, but although these influences are clearly scattered throughout the record, it still feels remarkably fresh and original. Cullen Omori’s love drunk swoons and howls intertwined with eruptions of shimmering guitar riffs from Max Kakacek amongst massive choruses (of which the band seem to have an indispensable amount of), create not only an intriguing, interesting and surprising listen but also a terribly addictive one. The album has a dream like quality to it that is constant throughout with heavily layered synths and a smattering of reverb providing the support for the riffs that fill the record. The sixteen second guitar solo/outburst in ‘Only One’ is enslaving, while the guitar line in ‘Still New’ rips apart the delicate build up that precedes it. The grandiosity of ‘All Die Young’ is transcendental and almost hymn-like with its ascending chords and thickly layered vocal chorus which eventually breaks down into a joyous celebration of love and lust as Omori’s whispery voice youthfully exudes the lines “All die young / Love is lovely when you are young”. More of this youthful exuberance/despair is exhibited in ‘Smile’ where the anthemic and uplifting chorus is accompanied by the heartfelt lines "Yeah it’s a waste of time, but the sun still shines and it shines for you".
One of the most exciting things about Smith Westerns is that the band consists of members between the age of nineteen and twenty. I kind of hate them for this a little bit, not only are they really young but, Dye It Blonde is their second album. The first one wasn’t that bad either, but since then they’ve grown musically from lo-fi garage recorded by themselves with limited resources to creating music with more purpose, scope and intrigue that sounds plush, fuller and more sparklingly attractive. There is no filler on Dye It Blonde at all. Each song conjures up its own sections of gloriously delivered music which all eventually become ingrained into the conscious. The album is full to the brim with hooks and sing-along choruses that create nostalgia driven images of the youth everyone wishes they had.
Dye It Blonde can be majestic as well as intrusive, soothing as well as on edge, and appeal to the masses as well as being deeply personal. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.