Smut

Smut – the Chicago-based band composed of Tay Roebuck (vocals), Andrew Min (guitar), Bell Cenower (bass/synth), Sam Ruschman (guitar/synth), and Aidan O’Connor (drums) – shares “Unbroken Thought,” the new single/video from How The Light Felt, their new album out November 11th on Bayonet Records. Following “Let Me Hate” and “After Silver Leaves” – “a shimmering shoegaze track that could have easily snuck into college radio rotation in 1993” (them.) – album closer “Unbroken Thought” is a tender turn from Smut. “Stay awhile,” Roebuck calls out through filtered vocals, “Stay awhile, I’ve been so lonely.”

Roebuck explains, “This is a love song! It stretches from pre-relationship to mid-relationship and the sort of mystical destiny that can bring people together. The first verse is before our couple has met, where they don’t realize that they are wandering and lost. Not necessarily looking for each other but when they finally meet? They are done for. The second verse is about them finally feeling the missing pieces filled. They are doing mundane day-to-day life but new life is given to it just by holding hands and knowing they’ve found each other.”

The accompanying video, directed by O’Connor, features Smut at a suburban carnival. “The music video hopefully reflects the kinetic energy of the song,” the band says. “We have the good and bad juxtaposed in fleeting moments over a phone call. We took a more friendship-centric approach to the music video than romantic because that sort of love doesn’t necessarily have to be romantic. When you find the person or people you’re meant to be with you know. We wanted to reflect the desperation that comes sometimes when you realize you need that connection.”

Originally based in Cincinnati, OH, Smut have conquered national tours with Bully, Swirlies, Nothing, and Wavves since their founding. Where their 2020 EP Power Fantasy dips its toe into the experimental, How the Light Felt (mastered by Heba Kadry) dives head-first into the band’s vast pool of 90s influences – brit-pop, shoegaze, and trip-hop – and takes their sound to exciting heights. How the Light Felt is a deeply personal record by real people – a reminder that no one is truly alone. It’s an exercise in coping, an electrifying statement of hope in the midst of resounding loss, and a love letter to the people that keep us going.

Following the death of her sister in 2017, Roebuck turned to writing to navigate her labyrinth of grief, setting her words on top of expansive tracks her bandmates had composed. Sonically, Smut excavates underutilized 90s guitar tones and drum beats. The band symbiotically tweaked and tinkered, co-producing this magnetic collection of emotive pop songs. The resulting album is an exercise in coping, an electrifying statement of hope in the thick of resounding loss, and a love letter to the people that keep us going.

With their powers combined, Smut meld the songwriting sensibilities of Oasis with the vocal delivery of the Cocteau Twins – the percussive grooves of Gorillaz with the sensuality of Massive Attack. An electric current of hope led by Roebuck’s powerful, femme vocals, Smut puts on a live show that is not to be missed. In support of the record, they’ll play select dates across North American this fall. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets for all shows are on sale now.