Club Smith - The Process EP

  by Tara McEvoy

published: 5 / 7 / 2010

---

Review

It may be easy to dismiss Club Smith as little more than just another indie band (you know the type – shoehorned themselves into a pair of skinny jeans, learnt three chords and proclaimed themselves the noughties’ answer to the Beatles), but look a little closer, and you’ll realise that what this rag tag bunch of Leeds-based musicians has to offer is altogether more appealing – thoughtful lyrics, anthemic riffs and a raucous energy that seem to ensure they will excel where others would find it difficult. A fusion of Queens of the Stone Age-esque instrumentation, with vocals that rely more on raw power and emotion than affected quirkiness, their new EP ‘The Process’ draws parallels with output from bands such as Bloc Party (thanks to the echoed backing vocals and synthesisers of ‘Causing Doubt’ ) and the Maccabees (due to their post punk sensibilities and the jittery guitars and feedback of ‘Young Defeatists)’. While they do this, they encapsulate an epic, momentous sound that has, in recent years, been bypassed in favour of kitchen sink realism and DIY production – and it’s refreshing to see it making a return. This is music that fills stadiums, that makes thousands of fists punch the air in unison, that deserves to be bellowed back at the four piece by thousands of festival goers in a field somewhere. If it seemed like indie rock was dying a slow death, then Club Smith may just be the band to drag it, kicking and screaming, back to life. With ‘The Process’ EP, indie rock looks set to be back and bigger and better than ever.

Track Listing:-

1 The Green Room
2 Causing Doubt
3 Do You Despair
4 Young Defeatists