Fat Possum

It can be tricky to separate a hipster buzz act from its hype. Such is the case with Chicago group Smith Westerns, an über-cool collection of underage musicians who’ve toured with Girls and MGMT. The music itself – part gritty ‘80s glam and part psych-rock revival – is compelling, although certainly not original or that different from that of its peers. Dye It Blonde is a follow up to Smith Western’s 2009 debut and its ten tracks are swoony indie rock numbers that feature spacey vocals and a slight hint of pretension. There are some interestingly explorative moments of psychadelia ( “Smile” ) and some solid bits of cosmic-sounding guitar ( “All Die Young” ), but the question lingers: Do we need more bands that sound like MGMT? Probably not.