Smarm
Ep
Having only been sloughing around the Queen City for about a year, SMARM have already ran into a studio to knock out a three-song EP that reclaims some of the sting oft-absent from the current underground trash rock scene. The maniacally majestic opening guitar lick on, uh, "Lick the Fist" makes it point and gets out of the way of the monster riff. Then the lead in "Cut Out," uh, cuts out like a 17-year old jumping the gun on the last tick of homeroom before summer vacation starts. Of course SMARM are no teens (at least not numerically), but that only means their seasoned playing can avoid any insecure putzing around. This feisty foursome are past the point of investigating a hoot about what anyone who's watching or listening might think; but close enough to their initial R'n'R inspiration to remember the root cause: fun! Eric Stein he of the aforementioned wild leads slices'n'dices around with guitarist Sam Richardson, while bassist Liam Dolan drives the bass right up the gut. Throughout, nifty tricks like the unique doubled-up vocals (members switch up singing duties) dodge between the flailing riffs, and drummer Drew Decker's micro-rolls feel like they're shoved by the caveman pound of the snare, giving the songs a rattled feel that grooves into something like burly in the midtempo closer, "Make Something Happen." Cincinnati has a proud tradition of coughing up a solid barn-burning garage rock band every 7 years or so, and SMARM might be the latest match-striker. Hearing these tunes, the visual is of four guys standing on the yellow line of a road between a racetrack and a dive bar, rubbing their chins in indecision, but quickly choosing to shoot straight up into the sky. - Eric Davidson (singer, New Bomb Turks / author, We Never Learn)