100 Watt Smile
And Reason Flew
Thirsty Ear
100 Watt Smile isn’t the rough-and-tough, indiscernible and distortion-laden garage rock band you’d expect with such a name. Think more along the lines of that “Smile” part of the title – and keep some of the distortion. A side project of Carrie Bradley, frontperson and permanent member of the on-hiatus Breeders, the San Francisco band is a clever-sounding distant relative of the Breeders with a little less formula rock, the same quality of catchy hooks and knob turned slightly up on the experimental pop.
Bradley’s voice is rather reminiscent of her Breeders bandmate Kim Deal, but her music takes a pleasantly different twist. Adding some jocund melodies and a steady, tap-your-foot-and-tilt-your-head rhythm, the tunes of 100 Watt Smile are clever rocking pop with a few strings, a few more bouncy guitar riffs and a plethora of bridges. Lyrically, Bradley covers all bases of love, sex, New Jersey, and new surgery, all cleverly phrased and sung in a bubbly manner that just aches to put a 100 Watt Smile on your face.
Thirsty Ear Recordings, 274 Madison Ave., Suite 804, New York, NY 10016; http://www.thirstyear.com
