By Surprise - Mountain Smashers
Echoing both the 90s indie-rock of Pavement and the visceral early emo of Piebald while infusing them with a country twang reminiscent of Drive-By Truckers, New Jersey's By Surprise have created a nostalgic but equally fresh sound in their debut 'Mountain Smashers' that should capture the hearts of any fan of the lo-fi side to rock.
Not afraid to show their influences on their sleeves, 'Mostly Harmless' sounds like Dinosaur Jr. rocking out to endearingly esoteric lyrics more akin to that of Guided By Voices' Bob Pollard with its unusual images of 'corn on the cob with roses' and making 'sandwiches' for 'the simple island people'. The fact that a song from the band's back catalogue is titled 'Ode To Pollard' indeed suggests that they are more than happy in paying open tribute to their influences but what's great is that they still make sure their songs are good as opposed to straight-up worship. Elsewhere, the brilliantly spitting forty second 'Photoshoot' could be a modern day Lifetime, the slower 'Fountain Splashers' channels Pavement right to the core with the vocals full of Stephen Malkmus' effortless cool and stand-out track '$600 Exorcism' reminds of much-missed indie-rockers Harvey Danger alongside the undeniably awesome lyricism of 'The Indians are screaming hold up what is all the meaning of this, you fucked me now I'm six hundred out' while razor-sharp guitar lines burn underneath.
The album is not without its surprises as well, the twisting 'Hanging out with Wendy in Sulik Land' merges a melodic punk pace and hard-hitting gang vocals with a subtle use of horns giving the song a memorable and oddly moving quality in its subject of love never being returned. Closing track 'Direct Loans' is the closest the band come to country with delicately twanging strings meeting authentic porch-lit boy/girl vocals of 'I just found out the news, my mama's got the blues', all before the track descends into a wave of feedback and impassioned yells and hollers. It all makes for a rather eclectic affair.
With the many distinct musical revivals currently taking place, countless bands are plummeting into music that offers nothing new but with their debut By Surprise have proved that you can still make music that is fresh and exciting while baring your influences clearly for all to see.