SMARTIES’ PRESS:
The Smarties sure do explode like an aural sugar rush on "Stop Or I'll Bust Out Crying." Hailing from the San Francisco area, this trio plays intelligently hyperactive pop-rock. It's power pop, but with significantly more emphasis on the power side of that musical equation.
For starters, you just have to love any band with the balls to open its album with a song called "Greg Peck." Yes, it's that Peck. But just like in-the-know Hollywood insiders like to do, they've shortened his name. It's done in the same way other actors speak of Chuck, and not Charlton Heston, to snobbishly remind you how they're proudly within the inner circle, and you're not.
The Smarties often have their finger on the pulse of kitsch culture here, but they're also by no means beyond getting a little serious now and again. "Michael Riley" is about someone (Perhaps a friend?) who died, and "The God Song" grapples with God, or whatever, and how he might relate to their daily lives.
A decided downside to The Smarties is how their sugar-rushing hyperactivity is sometimes a distraction. It's like trying to hold a conversation with somebody who just can't stop shaking one leg. This prevents you from concentrating on what they're trying to communicate, because they rarely slow down long enough to allow any of their words to fully resonate.
A better candy analogy for this group might actually be Pop Rocks, since there is just a little too much action, and not nearly enough flavor here.
-Dan MacIntosh
To the chagrin of many longtime fanatics of the genre, power pop is one heck of a hot ticket these days. Weezer’s a rare non pop-punk act who can land melodic songs on commercial alt-rock radio. Moogs, theremins and other essential building blocks of synth pop are tough to find at a reasonable cost, even on eBay. Pop is popular once again. It’s also getting far, far too slick and overcrowded for its own good.
The Smarties are the sort of band who’ll remind pop fans of the days when power-pop was as uncool as sweat pants and bands who picked up the genre did it out of a true love for the form. With little chance for mainstream exposure, there was little but the love of the rock to drive them. That’s all changed now, but The Smarties still pop with the old-school form on Stop or I’ll Bust Out Crying. Although the album suffers from slightly pernicious production values, it’s clear The Smarties are as sweet and no-frills as the candy from which they take their name.
Although nothing pops out of the mix with the ridiculously apparent hooks that are the fashion of today’s pop world, the band’s got a mix of melodic bass, warm, oft-jangly guitars and tight male/female vocal harmonies that are stable enough not to need to go overboard with its ear candy to be lovable. From fuzzy-blanket inviting guitars and sing-song vocal melodies that suggest a deep, deep love for everything pop and loud ("Reel Me In") to some bristly, distorted arrangements full of arrhythmia-inducing power-pop stops ("The God Song"), The Smarties light up the classic power-pop with a blaze that should be bright enough to burn retinas.
The gimmicks, over-production and all the other calling cards of chart-eyeing pop are nowhere to be found on Stop or I’ll Bust Out Crying, a fact that, curiously, makes The Smarties’ pop appeal all the brighter on this no-frills melodic venture.
West Coast Performer, August 2002:
This sophomore release from the San Francisco indie-pop trio, the Smarties, will sadly be their last. The band just played their final show at Bottom of the Hill. Stop Or I'll Bust Out Crying makes a fitting farewell album, as the themes of stagnancy, loss, and death are prevalent throughout the entire record. A whopping six of the eleven songs on the album mention death or dying. The last thing the world needs is yet another angst-ridden, self-pitying, "why me?" rock band doing the "deeper and more depressed than thou" schtick. Be assured this album is nothing of the sort. In fact, Stop Or I'll Bust Out Crying may be one of the most upbeat and energetic albums about death since... Well, maybe it's the only one. While the lyrics are poignant and sometimes sad, the music most assuredly is not. The Smarties make pop songs that you won't be able to get out of your head for days. You'll never shower alone again, as Mike Henry (vocals, guitar), Margo McAdams (bass), and Doug Carson (drums) will join you there for a delightful pop foursome. Frankly, if you didn't read the Smarties' lyrics, you'd never know the depth of the subject matter. While the idea of an upbeat album about death may seem oxymoronic, the Smarties somehow make it work to their advantage. Take for example, "Shut Your Mouth," which at first listen comes of like a catchy, head-bopping anthem -- something that perhaps the Buzzcocks would have come up with if they were a little more rock than punk -- yet the lyrics reveal a desperate tale of a double suicide in the making. The Smarties make music perfect for a summer road trip with the top down: Henry's voice is perfect for crooning lines that are either funny "God (or whatever) just kicked me upside the head" ("The God Song") or desperate, "you're the air and I can't breathe" ("Reel Me In"). All the while Margo McAdams' bass lines kick in just the right spots, and Doug Carson, unlike many pop drummers, is tight, rockin', and skilled.
I grew up in a town with a minor league baseball team. As an true sports lover will tell you, the essence of the game remains at any level of competition. Sure, only one or two players will likely make the majors, but the fact that all of them are getting paid money to play a game for a living is pretty astounding. Listening to The Smarties reminds me of watching those minor league games. This three piece power pop outfit is playing the same game as a number of marquee bands, only at a lower level. They have what it takes to make waves, but they are held back by the same force that works against any hot prospect in Class A ball. The tools are there; they just need to be unpacked, and the only way to do that is with more seasoning and by tapping into those intangible elements that make the superstars so incredible. Despite being pretty raw, The Smarties have put together a solid album. The lead singer sounds a great deal like John Davis of Superdrag, brimming with punch and sincerity. The vocals breathe life into melodies that feel a bit tired at times, as well as filling out the stronger ones. As with any band of this sort, catchiness is The Smarties' bread and butter, and not a song here lacks hummability or memorability. The band succeeds at all they attempt; the only just criticism is that they do not stretch themselves. Song structures are rudimentary, lyrics are elementary, and never do The Smarties experiment. The little things that can work wonders in a pop song -- a complex bass line, a shredding guitar solo, an exhilarating time change in the bridge -- are missing, leaving the album a bit thin.
The Smarties are too good to write off as uninspired or bland. They just have that minor league quality, for better and worse -- although they may very well be talented enough to merit a moment in the spotlight some day. -- Phillip Buchan
Babysue.com/LMNOP Reviews, July 2002:
Simple and direct, San Francisco's The Smarties don't need gimmicks because they write good, solid pop tunes. The trio consists of Margo McAdams, Doug Carson, and Mike Henry. The band's music sounds something like a younger Elvis Costello...but their tunes are more straightforward and rock a lot harder. Stop or I'll Bust Out Crying was recorded at John Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone recording studio...so you know the album has a good vibe. This band seems to be having a great time doing what they love and enjoy...and their enthusiasm and talent shine through loud and clear. Good stuff...! Hummable rockers here include "Breaker," "Queer For Weather," and "Shut Your Mouth." (Rating: 4+++)
The Little Lighthouse - KSLU, Baton Rouge, LA:
The Smarties are a band I discovered thought the famous Heyday sampler of Bay area bands last year. The way they treated their winderful song Make It Glow reminds me a lot on what the other great band Lotion out of New York City did on their two unforgettable albums Full Isaac and Nobody's Cool.
Then I was lucky enough to receive their debut ep called simply The Smarties wich included several very different tunes with standouts such as Make It Glow and Take It. Since then Smarties worked hard playing often venues in San Francisco area and creating a nice following. More importantly the material for the new album was gathering up and it is finally out as their first full length release.
The album is called Stop or I'll Bust Out Crying. It represents one of the first and most wonderful surprises for this season! Smarties offer a great deal of wonderfully written pop rock tunes that have a personal watermark, but in several places recall some very interesting predecesors. The way they treat riffs and lyrics reminds me this time a lot on early Superchunk, and the overall positive atmosphere recalls that of the Pixies debut album Surfer Rosa. In Reel Me In Mike Mike Henry sounds like Joey Ramone and his vocal interpretations still holds the comparison to Tony Zajkowski of Lotion.
However, it would be so wrong to think that this album is some sort a copy or a derivation of thigns that you already know. Unfortunatelly I don't know a better way to represent the new band without relating it to something I know from before. One thing is for certian, On this album Smarties sound way better than any of the bands I just listed on their latest releases. Now this really should mean something!
Band sounds so well coordinated and at the same time there are no any modern productional hooks, in other words everything sounds very live and that makes me very curious about their live shows. It must be fun on their gigs! One of the hided treasures on the album are discrete but wonderful background vocals by the bass player Margo McAdams. Doug Carson's drumming is imaginative and full of hooks. Such line up and song arrangements make this trio one of the rare instances where each member contributes to the overall sound equally.
On Stop or I'll Bust Out Crying a hit tune replaces a hit tune. Probably three best songs are cruchy riff numbers Greg Peck, Breaker, The God Song, Shut Your Mouth and I Blow Up. Songs are so strong that they stand shoulder to shoulder to any rockers that you can hear on this show and in a world that is better than this one those would be very popular songs. Perhaps also the slower songs on the album like Reel Me In and Almost Over also have a hit potential, but there is still a long and hard road for this band to find a wider audience. This album is distributed by the band themselves which mean that a large percent of the wolrd won't even know this band exists, and we will be probably waiting for another release by this band to see them shine with rock'n'roll stardom. But this record promises those days can't be too far.
Anyhow, it is simply unbeliavble how this album flows so wonderfully and gets under your skin. It's almost as if the album has no down points with maybe exception to a bit repetitios song Diva. This record will certainly be something that we'll be listening frequently on this radio show. Perhaps you will be able to say you knew about Smarties before they went gold, and started to grow (as Juliana Hatfield said about Violent Femmes and Del Fuegos in her song My Sister.)
Radiohead/Buffalo Tom producer Sean Slade review of “Take It” on Garageband.com:
We'll start first with 'Take It' from The Smarties.
Thumbs up! This is really well written power-pop, with all the eternal varities of power-pop - a genre of which I am particularly fond. The verse has a really, really good build. And the doubled lead vocal is a real plus that worked out very well. The singer sings well with himself.
It's got a great... it's classic in terms of the arrangement. One particluar thing I really liked was the last note of the melody of the brigde morphes perfectly into the first note of the organ solo which is a really nice touch.
Not much to criticize here other than the fact that there was one little thing that I noticed. The transition from the first chorus into the second verse is kind of shakey rhythmically. I think the drummer in going back to the more up-tempo verse thing maybe overdid it a little bit.
Other than that though, it's really, really nice and again thumbs up to The Smarties.
Splendid E-zine:
The Smarties / The Smarties (CD)
At its heart, this disc is sloppy. Shambolic. Chaotic. Its punk-flavored rock ditties are held together by surface tension -- poke 'em and they'll collapse. That's enough to make me love the Smarties, or at least like 'em a whole lot. I'm not trying to insult the band here -- most of the best punk rock songs rattle along like a child's "some assembly required" bicycle assembled by a beer-toting stepdad on disability. There's just something exhilarating about songs that clearly might disintegrate before they finish. The Smarties make a further stab at indie cred by including a Star Wars song ("(Everyone Loves) Chewie"), which certainly doesn't hurt their score with me. Offering seven songs in 23 minutes, the disc may seem a bit short, but trust me -- a handful of Smarties goes a long long way. -- gz
Listen.com review of “Make It Glow”:
San Francisco's The Smarties ride an upbeat, feel-good groove and a soaring melody all the way to the finish line, Guided By Voices-style. Agitated snare finesse and hydroplane pounding lay heavy groundwork for big chords, big voices, and big hearts. Dual-string, atonal guitar jangle walks around thick, overdriven chords, leaving just enough room for endearing, hopeful vocals. Everyone seems to be holding on to the melody, bound for glory, pushing and pulling all the way to blissful pop freedom.
Mai Le, West Coast Performer Magazine:
Their songs [are] extremely welcoming, ripe with pop bursts and compelling sing-a-long lyrics. Incredibly tight and catchy music, with the sweetest pop hooks that were ever to touch an ear drum.
Greg Heller, BAM Magazine:
The Smarties play the kind of pop your band is too self-conscious to write. [Their] expertly crafted songs are, as their name implies, smart, hookier than Dorf On Fishing, and cuddlier than the Snuggle fabric-softener bear wrapped fireside in cozy flannel sheets.
Pop Scout’s Indie Power Pop
Review of “Make It Glow”:
San Francisco's feel-good band blows out some hypnotic good vibrations that make you feel like you've just tuned in your favorite GBV cut as the sun comes out over your convertible flying down the Replacements Highway.
Back in the Day:
Two Live
SF Bay Guardian, March 4, 1998
The Smarties - Three Minute Fix
If you didn’t get your fill at last week’s Noise Pop Festival, there’s a new band making the rounds who might help you ride out the sugar crash. Two Saturdays ago the Smarties transformed the Boomerang into a sanctuary of overdriven pop culture worship. I counted at least six references to either TV or movies, most notably the set’s closing tune “Everybody Loves Chewie,” which drips gooey affection all over Han Solo’s hairy sidekick.
The Smarties opened their set with “Speed Kills.” With its fast 4/4 tempo, power chords galore, and lead guitar work (including the only solo of the night), lead singer-guitarist Michael Henry took a straightforward, in-your-face approach, leaving subtlety squirming like road kill in the rear view mirror. Henry’s falsetto chorus (to be used again on “Space Age Appliances”) reminded me of the one in Third Eye Blind’s “Thanks a Lot,” minus the techno-lite accouterments.
Henry, who counts the Pixies as a major influence, has a punchy vocal style and sings with a slight British accent. Veins popped out on his throat during “Who Killed Bob Crane?” before Doug Carson’s syncopated beat on a taut snare drum closed the song with a flourish. Smiling bassist Margo McAdams complemented her bandmates well, although it was hard to make out her riffs since the mix was skewed toward the high end.
You know what you’re getting with the Smarties. Loud, fast, and heavy, they rarely play a song that’s longer than three minutes. Lyrically they wallow in shallowness like a youngster making the most of a kiddie pool filled with Kool-Aid. For a band only six months old, the Smarties have a firm grasp of what they want to be when they grow up. -Lewis Ward
Demo Tape o' the Week
SF Bay Guardian January 7, 1998
The Smarties
NO DOUBT about it, the queue of jokey San Francisco rock bands is formidably long. By pairing no-frills rock with a lyrical acumen sharper than the average huckster, the Smarties may be able to budge a few places in line. Stretching out his syllables like a cross between Brett Anderson and Frank N. Furter, singer Mike is the game-show voice-over with a twist on "Space Age Appliances." Its line "What makes your whole house sing like Sinatra or think like Sartre?" is a shakeup of '50s houseware propaganda. Margo's warbly backing "ooh's," though not always pretty, lend campy anarchy to the trio's tightly wound mix. "Who Killed Bob Crane?" a song that seems the band's only concession to the ordinary ("There's more to life than being hugged and kissed") gets monkey-wrenched by its namesake. Crane played Col. Robert Hogan on Hogan's Heroes, and his skirt-chasing ways may have led to his mysterious murder in 1978. "Speed Kills" probably spills the beans on the band's creative process with the confession "I believe that television has made me what I am.” -Howard Myint
Stop or I’ll Bust Out Crying:
Reviewer - Nichole Louis
The Smarties - Self-titled EP: