The Smugglers
Growing Up Smuggler
Mint/Lookout!
The Smugglers return, and it’s like a fresh breeze blows through the house. This commemorative ten-year retrospective, thinly disguised as a live album, contains all elements Smuggler – more rough pop than pop punk, the Smugglers craft a sharp hook and then bait it with choruses about pickem up trucks, lays and luaus, and those Portuguese waitresses which you mistake for Egyptian. This seems to have been recorded in Spain, and the live set tosses in a couple covers, most notable the Young Fresh Fellows’ “Three Sides.” There’s even a streak in the middle where three song titles utilize four exclamation marks! And it’s well-earned! And meticulous liner notes to boot!
About the next best thing to have been there would be to pour a warm mixture of saline solution and beer on yourself, blast this out of your stereo, and take a ride in your dryer. Ah! Don’t forget to change the lint filter between plays. Lookout! Records, P.O. Box 11374, Berkeley, CA 94701; http://www.lookoutrecords.com
