Label: Vagrant Rating: 4 Guns
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Written By: Darwin Green
What energy.
I can’t think of a better fitting band name for this sound. One can clearly label it dynamic, jazzy, and energetic in a speed-metal way without the screams. But there’s a certain element of local-based “rock will rule the world” mentality pushing out of each song. SMD has a youthful fun to it that the more serious and intricate Mars Volta probably started with. Indeed, they possess both free-form and fun elements with Mars Volta sensibilities.
At times each track within every song fits together like a smoky jigsaw puzzle, full of distant and dissonant elements coalescing into a clear picture. Other times one feels like a witness to the perfection and precision of gears in a watch, syncing to create a solid world of tonal virtuosity.
When one watches the band in video interviews one wonders where all of it comes from. For such loud, aggressive rock they seem so nice and pleasant. It’s a wonder they can make it through a live performance. Perhaps they save all of their energy for the stage, giving it out to the fans as though through a fire hose. Back at home they seem content to play Connect Four and just hang out. Are they the shadow side of Death Cab For Cutie?
Whatever the case, SMD clearly expresses a growing talent within the realms of rock and roll, whatever rock and roll is these days. It’s like touching pure energy and having it course through your body. Your feet can’t help but move, your heart starts beating a little faster, and then, before you realize it, you’re drumming your hands against the closest surface available.
Like So Many Dynamos? Check out: Mars Volta, Circa Survive, Robbers On High Street
