New Choons: Smith Westerns - 'Varsity'

Two years on from Chicago based trio Smith Westerns' 2011 sophomore album Dye It Blonde and the riff of lead single Weekend still loops over and over in my head. In fact the entire album was a very impressive LP especially when you consider the band hadn't even reached their 21st birthdays at that point. Naturally the summer announcement of their third album Soft Will sees a sort of 'come of age' tag following them wherever they go and lead single Varsity carries on their reputation for 'beyond their years' sophisticated songwriting.


The band's 70s-80s influenced reverberated guitars are still present with the characteristic chorus sound we came to love on Dye It Blonde. With retro futuristic string synths added to the mix the overall sound is pleasing to the ear as frontman Cullen Omari's strained yet delicate vocals drift over the track. Opening words "I thought I was a loner until I went out on my own" sets the mood detailing the struggle of being unrequitedly infatuated continuing with the line "Safety came in numbers but all I needed was just one" portraying the singers head over heels fall. Soft Will is released June 11th on Mom + Pop Music.