Smirk - Material LPAs the Decline of Western Civilization comes into full focus, our ears turn once again to Los Angeles. The first proper full length from SMIRK could very well be the soundtrack to a Decline pt. IV, with tracks like "Living in Hell" and "Hopeless" delivered for a whole new generation of latchkey kids. Material follows 2021's 100% TOTAL PUNK EP and 2020's LP, which collected the first two cassettes de quarantine that began NICK VICARIO's run as Smirk.

Deep connections to the Bay Area

the alternating sing-speak vocal deliveries both lullaby and gothic harbinger of

achieving a head-spinning velocity occasionally interrupted by sections that mimic drips and chimes amidst the cacophony

Los Lichis

Soft Office

as well as the semi-lucid guitarist to Oakland’s The World -- another post-punk n’ funk band that lies beyond the realm of normalcy --

where synthesizer washes become full-on workouts all leading to a coda where the listener is "finally carried off on the wheels of the Berlin U-Bahn

Un hiver en plein été by Felicia Atkinson & Jefre Cantu-Ledesma

The first three (FTR 399LP

And each of the four pieces on side one (all entitled "Nothing") has a distinct approach to sustained tones

” as explained by guitarist/singer Parker Allen

[dispersed piano melodies]