I first heard of the Slovenian band Smacked about two years ago, when they played the Beach Stage on Punk Rock Holiday, and had them on my list of bands to check out. Many drinks, and a solid sunburn, in, all I can remember from that is thinking it was a great set and a band to keep an eye out on. I’m glad I did.
It’s been a long time since I instantly fell in love with a record. Sure, there have been some good releases, and there’s been a few that I fell in love with upon repeat listens, but that rare moment where you know upon a first listen that this will make your record of the year? I haven’t had that in a few years. That is, until Smacked released Rise and Grind. This record has gotten a disgusting amount of listens from me in the past month or so since it’s been out, and I welcome any band to try and kick this off the top spot of record of the year.
Opening with the titular track Rise and Grind, I will tell you the deal: if you listen to this song and don’t immediately think “this is what I’ve been missing in music these days”, this review may not resonate with you. It’s in those first seconds, the melody and guitar tone, the drums and bass kicking in together with no hesitation. When the vocals hit, you know what to expect from the entire record, and if you grew up on any kind of skate punk, you know you are going to love it. This is the song you put on after a day where everything feels like it’s working against you, and you remember that despite all the little annoyances in life, there’s always things that make going on and not giving in worth it.
“I will be good. I will be fine. Nothing will hurt me, my spirit will rise.”
Homesick opens up with just the drums and the bass, giving it immediately a bit of a darker feeling. The tone is dirtier, grittier, and it sets up the atmosphere for the desperation within the song. Musically, it leans hard into early No Use For a Name. There aren’t a lot of songs out there that capture the burnout and frustration of losing the fight to keep your place as perfectly as this one does; the build-up accumulating with a small bass solo, ending in a desperate, contradicting, outro of I’m not coming home.
“I tried to come back, you left me broken hearted. I’m feeling homesick, it’s something that I can’t hide”
On Dark Days, the Face to Face and Millencolin influences are shining through. There’s a grittiness to the vocals that’s usually reserved for street punk, which is rare to hear in this sound these days, and very appreciated. Whether you see this song as written to a friend, or written to the self, it almost feels like anger towards feeling like you’re alone in struggles – and within our scene, you’re seldom unseen, it’s one of the places we can congregate as misfits and feel alive.
“I will be here when you call me, I know the night feels so cold. Remember not to surrender.”
Talking about street punk, Poor Kids On Coke is the kind of song that makes me wantto revisit bands like GBH. It’s too melodic for that, but it’s got the feeling. It’s the kind of song that reminds you of every song played by some random band you don’t remember, as you drank too much in a random European squat. Just me? Then again, I’m pretty sure that the kids on coke this song is about are the same kids booking the gigs at said squats.
“How can you explain, you’re bleeding every day, and when the morning comes do you realise that you’re a slave locked in a cage?”
Dad-bod Cry feels more like a classic punk-rock song. Early Bad Religion, maybe. Or, again, Face to Face. Look, I’m not a professional music writer, don’t ask me for comparisons – the first song that came to mind upon hearing this was by the Murderburgers. It’s got what you need though, quick drums, simple guitars, and a solo that lasts just long enough to belong.
“Another year has just come, but I’m still falling in love.”
Back to the melodies, Fools Like Politicians kicks in with an atmosphere of regret and powerlessness. This is one of the weaker songs on the album, it feels like it’s not quite sure where it wants to go, though I’m really liking the backing vocals at the end here.
“We’re fools like politicians, I think we have a second chance. There’s no word to describe the disgust I feel inside.”
The next track, Looking on the Bright Side, might be one of my favourite tracks on Rise and Grind. It has it all: the melodies, the build-up, the optimism, the backing vocals. The intro to the chorus, with the energy in the vocals, and the drums leading it in, gives a power. The group vocals at the end bringing the repetition, with the music behind it moving enough to keep it from being repetitive. It would have worked so well as an album closer, and I had to take a look how many songs were after this. Step in your car, put on this song on an unreasonable volume, and start driving. Your day will be better.
“I will thrive and I will survive, cause I am looking on the bright side.”
It’s interesting how Smacked has two kind of songs – the personal, melodic, ones and the angry, political, punk ones. Most bands tend to lean one way or the other, with the occasional song the other way feeling like filler, but on this record it almost feels natural. In Shallow Grave, we’re trading the melodic side again for a more classic punk rock track. That’s not to say it’s not melodic, but it’s straight-forward in its melodies.
“I can’t believe it, that humanity has failed, when the truth is buried in the shallow grave.”
I’m a sucker for songs starting with muted vocals, or whatever the technical term for it is. Changes is another one of my favourites, and I think it might be the drums specifically on this track that do it for me. In the fantasy where I have the money to fly over bands across the world, I am definitely seeing Smacked on a line-up that also has Oh the Humanity! upon hearing this song.
“Breathe, my time has come. I was holding on. I realised that I will take back what is mine.”
In Never Again we have a song of defiance. I don’t want to write about this song, I want to put it on repeat and give it a few more listens. It’s the kind of song that reminds you both what it feels like to move on alone, and that you’re never alone in what you go through. The kind of song that makes you want to get your shit sorted, maybe out of pettiness, maybe because it’s about time.
“I never knew you got it too, and in this moment without you, and when I try my best to moving on, I just don’t know what to do.”
I’d love for every closing track to have this strong of an intro as Hadabnu III. Smacked shows again that they are at their best when they lean hard into the build-ups, melodies, and big choruses. I will always love the bands that understand the importance of a big ending, of ending on a song that actually feels like they’re closing out the album. Hadabnu III does that, and I can’t even complain about the guitar solo – I always have complaints about guitar solos.
“All the passion that I have, all the hours that I spent, and I tried, and I tried, and there’s no second chance”
Rise and Grind isn’t a perfect record by a long shot. Instead, it does something better than perfection: it doubles down on a sound that works. There are too many bands trying their hardest to sound different, to stand out – and it’s refreshing when a band sounds like their influences, but with their own spin on it. When you can hear that it started as a I really like these bands, I want to do the same, without any pretense.
Smacked doesn’t break new ground, they stomp over the fields walked by many before them, cementing the well-worn paths, and leaving their own footprints. Embrace the sometimes choppy English lyrics and embrace the accent – we all have one, no matter where we come from. They might name the 90’s Californian punk scene as their influence, but what’s coming out of Europe these days is better than most of what’s going on on the West Coast – a lot more sincere at the very least.
