by Al Crisafulli (@Sugarblastmusic)
Ten tracks of tangled, anxious but melodic bedroom punk, Material is the latest from Smirk, the solo project of Los Angeles guitarist Nick Vicario (Public Eye, Crisis Man). The followup to two 2021 releases, the album typifies the punchy, lo-fi aesthetic of the Feel It roster, while embracing both ‘70s-flavored rock guitar jams and the jittery new wave of the early ‘80s.
The album roars out of the gate with the fuzzy, post-hardcore of “Material World’s Unfair,” one of the album’s longer tracks at 2:27, a conglomeration of beefy bass lines and beastly riffs. Most of the record’s heaviest undertones disappear quickly, however, like the angular, almost mechanical “Revenge,” which, like much of Material, blends rich, distorted guitar melodies with mostly spoken lyrics (with guest vocal on this track from Iphigenia Foie). They’re pop songs, but with a pensive, angsty subtext.
Vicario’s lyrics reflect the deep, almost forced self-reflection brought about by months of pandemic-related isolation. In “Souvenir,” Vicario plans and ponders, singing “Another birthday, another year/don’t want to spend it living in fear/of what I might do or say/I’ve got to find my own way.” “Hopeless” opens with a simple, melodious guitar lead before asking “Is it hopeless?” Perhaps an examination of late-stage capitalism or the nationwide protests that erupted in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, Vicario describes a city in flames: “I always knew that this city was shit, man/but look at it now/It finally looks like it does in my head/Boarded up and burning down.”
Material exudes both paranoid tension and twitchy energy, sounding both fresh and familiar. Equal parts riffs and hooks, the album juxtaposes layers of guitar with subdued, robotic rhythms, and a jagged but melodic collection of catchy fuzz-pop anthems.