★★★★☆
“This is not work ethic / It’s survival technique,” confesses Smith Street Band frontman Wil Wagner on ‘Song For You’, the fourth song onMore Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me, the group’s fourth studio album.
It’s hard to shake the feeling that this is the most vital album the band has ever released – if not for its career, then for Wagner himself.
Using the loose narrative arc of the rise and fall of a relationship, The Smith Street Band serve up all the hallmarks of their sound, touching on the topics of mental health, technology and touring through Wagner’s hyper-literal songwriting.
But it’s the production on More Scared Of You that separates it from the pack. Ex-Bomb The Music Industry! frontman Jeff Rosenstock has slaved with the band to take everything to the next level, from the bells ringing out in ‘Birthdays’ to the sneaky appearance from Tim Rogers in ‘Run Into The World’.
The band is also firing on every cylinder, as Wagner serves up his most intense vocal take to date on ‘Suffer’. Meanwhile, the rest of the group explores elements of emo and post-rock to create a more layered sound than on previous releases.
When all is said and done, More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me might be the definitive release from The Smith Street Band.
Released byPool House/Remote Control,The Smith Street Band’sMore Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me is out Friday April 8.
