Review
Smudged
Demo 2005

Independent (2006) Peanut

Smudged – Demo 2005 cover artwork
Smudged – Demo 2005 — Independent, 2006

Every so often you end up with a friend's bands demo in your hands and most of the time, let's be fair, you are just at the shows and buying the demos and merch to help support your friends. Most of the time you have to admit that there is a hint of jealousy at the fact that it's them, and not you, on the stage.

Smudged not only make me jealous because they are my friends, but also because they are so damn fucking good. The live shows are something to behold and they are able to captivate the audience with ease. The come across as almost a jam band with a multitude of different instruments and a stage presence that makes you feel that at a nod of a head they could go almost anywhere mid song and still never miss a beat between them. It's a shame that Demo 2005 just doesn't have that grab to it.

You can tell from the first note of opener "Final Destination" that this band is good, the whole thing reeks of talent and skill, the acoustic sound of Ben and Eddie's guitars is great and what they play is somewhat hypnotic and you just find yourself nodding along. Katy and Eddie's vocals sound great and often soar with power and grace. However you soon find yourself wishing that the music had the presence and feel of the live counterpart.

"Catalyst" is much the same; a brilliant piece of music with the addition of an entrancing flute riff that appears throughout the song. The great bass line and use of a saxophone, like before, are all there, but it lacks the emotion you expect from music like this.

I think what makes this CD so disappointing is that once you get to listen to the band you notice that they have already left it behind in their performance, the new songs and the fact that the band seem to get better with every passing moment and so sadly I don't feel that they will ever be able to live up to their live shows on record unless they find a way of capturing the raw energy of it somehow. In fact I'm sure by the time you have read this the band will have already outstripped their last performance and made this record even more redundant.

Smudged are a great band and I know they will do well for themselves; they have the talent and songs to go as far as they want, and it's just a shame that they are unable to show it fully on this demo.

6.5 / 10Peanut • October 25, 2006

Smudged – Demo 2005 cover artwork
Smudged – Demo 2005 — Independent, 2006

Recently-posted album reviews

Økse

Økse
Backwoodz Recordz (2024)

Økse is a gathering of brilliant, creative minds. The project's roster is pristine, with avant-jazz phenoms Mette Rasmussen on saxophone, Savannah Harris on drums, and Petter Eldh on bass/synths/samplers joining electronic artist and multidisciplinery extraordinaire Val Jeanty (of the fantastic Turning Jewels Into Water project.) The result is a multi-faceted work that stands on top of multiple sonic pillars, as … Read more

Final

What We Don't See
Room40 (2024)

Justin K. Broadrick's prolific output keeps giving, and may it never stop! The latest release is one of Broadrick's earliest projects, Final, which started in the power electronics tradition but since its resurrection in the early '90s, it is solidly standing in the ambient realm. Final's new full-length What We Don't See continues on the same trajectory, relishing drone's minimalistic … Read more

Bambies

Snotty Angels
Spaghetty Town Records, Wanda Records (2024)

The digital files I’ve been listening to as I write this review are all tagged to begin with the band name, e.g. “Bambies Teenage Night,” “Bambies Love Bite,” etc. It seems like a fitting metaphor. The Bambies play the kind of Ramones-adjacent garage-punk that’s often self-referential and in on their own joke. The Bambies play leather jacket-clad, straight-forward punky songs … Read more