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Hood Smoke’s diamond has many facets

Last updated on January 6, 2022

Steven Hyden wrote in a footnote of a 2012 article on Muse that, “in the future, there likely will be an infinite series of hyper-specific subsets with finely detailed points of demarcation between micro-genres, and music that sounds like one big nonsensical but weirdly logical mess.” Seven years later, we have lived through Justin Bieber in “Despacito,” Ed Sheeran in a reggae compilation, “Old Country Road,” and other proofs that the latter part has come true: boundaries in capital-P Pop Music are nothing more than Hyden’s suggestion of “the headgear and footwear of the performers.” But does this extend to different tiers of the popular music echelon?

Hood Smoke‘s Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Wallace is an apt place to investigate this phenomenon. The press avoids genre names altogether in the top line and bills it as a “go-to summertime chill-out album,” which it mostly is (and even more so for people who chill out to big guitar distortion every now and then). Elsewhere genre names like jazz, soul, rock, indie post-pop, funk, and “a folky kindness” appear. None of these things are wrong at all, except you have to squint pretty hard to hear the jazz forebears. Still, they’re all angles from which you can look at Hood Smoke’s latest. They’re all facets of the diamond that reflect light.

This is a pretty folk-heavy blog, so the folky elements were what drew me to this record. This is novel because it was the indie post-pop elements that drew me in on previous releases that I have covered; Hood Smoke has eased further and further into my own personal reviewing comfort zone with its sonic progression. And because I have an expansive mindset on what can be folk-pop and how many influences you can throw in folk before it’s not folk anymore, this can be read (in my view) as a folk album with extensions and influences that wrap in all of the aforementioned genres.

Lead single “Flown” shows how this is true: there’s a groovy guitar lead line that could fit in a lot of different genres, an organ that tips this off toward alt-country, dense guitars that push this toward indie early Death Cab-style indie-pop, and soaring male vocals that are appreciated in almost any genre. But it all flows from the sort of vibe (created by the tension between a single kick drum, the cascading guitar and bass thump) that feels like a folk-pop song, a la The Head and the Heart. This is the sort of song that embodies Hyden’s “nonsensical but weirdly logical” music; “Flown” is an excellent tune that fits very clearly in a recognizable space. But what is that space? Do we care? Is it important? For the listener, probably not. It’s a great song and worth listening to. It’ll hook you for the record.

But just in case you doubt the veracity of my claim that this is a folk record, opener “Lone Lorraine” is a folk song through and through; the only influences outside folk are maybe The Eagles and trad country (weeping pedal steel). Otherwise, this is a lot of acoustic guitar strum in a five-minute mid-tempo song about a woman. Folk percentage: 100%. “Over the Ashes” is similarly acoustic-heavy, but it’s got a little bit more radio ’90s in its veins to give it a bit of a more pop feel without going overboard. The mellow “One Shot” sounds like a lost track from Coldplay somewhere between Parachutes and Rush of Blood to the Head. “At the Lighthouse” is a bit Dawes-ian in its approach, but still chill.

But then there’s the back half of the record that’s very wide-angle, squint-harder folk: “Keeps Me Around” starts off with a single beat before pummeling the listener with ’90s guitar thunder. “What’s Fair Marie” is funky/soulful/groovy in a moody R&B sort of way. Six-minute “Astraea” is a sort of deconstructed folk that mashes up with chill R&B, some unexpected guitar chord patterns, and Counting Crows vibes to create something new and interesting–it’s like The Bends but more direct. Closer “Peppered Hills” amps up the dreamy R&B aspects of their sound for maximum let’s-get-it-on factor.

None of this means that Hood Smoke’s release is derivative–the opposite, in fact. The way that they blend these influences, elements, and cultural touchstones is masterful. The result is a highly developed collection of songs that could indeed be a chill-out album (save “Keeps Me Around”–not chill) or a folk fan’s new favorite or a good album to throw in a progressive R&B Spotify playlist. The many facets of this album will speak to different people in different ways; different things will jump out at you depending on what your interest is. Yet it’s not a grab-bag potpourri of different styles; Hood Smoke charts their own specific course through the post-everything mix that is our musical culture without losing the thread. They know what they’re about, and this album reflects it; they just happen to have a lot of people who will recognize and respect the record they’ve put out. It’s a great record, and one that you should check out.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Wallace releases August 23 on ears&eyes Records. The band is doing two release shows:

Jazz Estate (Milwaukee WI) August 9th, 8pm $13 (event)
The Hungry Brain (Chicago IL) Friday, August 23rd, 9pm $9 (tickets)