The Smiley Kids are rough punk. Poppy melodies with gritty vocals and fast beats (more old school than the new school hyper beats). If you mixed the first Crucified album with the first Ninety Pound Wuss album and a little bit of Operation Ivy at points - you might get something that resembled this band. After a horrendous start where they play a little and have some adult complain about their loud rock and roll, they get into a really good fast upbeat song. Although the album doesn't have a whole ton of variety or originality, it's still a decent listen. They are really good at what they do making fast rough punk songs with pretty good melodies. I'd easily pick this over most generic poppy hyper-punk wanna-be bands.
B-
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis 2000Reviewed by Tom BastianThe first time I heard this band, I thought they were the Christian rip-off of Screeching Weasel. But after hearing this full length I decided that they sound less like Screeching Weasel (with the exception of the song "Love Your Enemies", is Ben Weasel singing on that song?), and more like just about every other rough sounding punk rock band out there. They don't have quite the pop feel that…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by TimThe production of this album is great. A lot of punk albums have really low budgets, so it is nice to hear one that is actually recorded well. The problem is that this band doesn't need a good recording. It is straight forward new school punk with hardly any variation in guitar or drums. This album would have probably been good 5 years ago, but for now, it seems overdone. CHM Magazine #79Reviewed by Doug Van PeltThese kids fill up this disc with tons o fun. It starts off with a hilarious dramatization about some angry neighbors, who tell the rehearsing band to, "turn it down!" While fun to listen to, the music is nothing to laugh at. Those of you who heard the single "Fill The Gaps" from last issue's HM Hard Music Sampler CD will be able to attest that these four guys can lay down some hefty sounds. The…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Josh SpencerSeems Sarabellum Recordings is moving well away from their modern rock label origins, with swing band the W's and ska/punk delight Five Iron Frenzy as their flagship bands now. The next step would be a punk band, and Smiley Kids fits the bill (being friends of Five Iron didn't hurt). There was no doubt it would be quality punk, but the worst cover art known to man almost threw me off when the…Similar sounding releases
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