Review Summary: A sprightly tone.
Combining the quirky, melancholic innocence of Interpol with the snarky humor of Fall Out Boy, indie rock group This Is Me Smiling released a near flawless self-titled debut that had the edge of pop/punk, but the ambiguous fun of indie rock. It was a prime cocktail of fun and pensive, a primed grenade ready to explode in the mind of any thoughtful teenager. Indeed,
This Is Me Smiling was a prime attack strategy to gain the admiration and attention of any young adult: it was raucous enough to avoid being a sleeper, yet quiet enough to avoid reaching the hard rock radius. The question was, how was the group to follow up? Especially because it had been five years since the release date of the self-titled, so the group could’ve possibly lost original members, and therefore lost their creative niche. Never fear, though, This Is Me Smiling not only preserved their original lineup during that time, but they contained their tendency for what they do best.
To be frank,
Only Uphill is merely an expansion on the band’s exclusive take of the genre. However, there are still slight modifications. This time around, there’s much more of a focus on straight alternative rock, and a sprightly tone to match. Don’t get me wrong, all the members of TIMS were extremely talented on the self-titled, but there’s a slight sense of revitalization, like the men are inflamed by being back in the studio. There’s still inclusion of piano, yes, but there’s less keyboard/programming sampling as well. The entire album just feels primitive, but in good way, as it is extremely organic. There’s also greater focus on electric guitar work, and even a few interesting leads that border on solos, with a slight Black Keys influence. As for the vocalist, his reticent yet impassioned limited range delivers a fitting performance, though when he does choose to stretch his range, it works healthily and doesn’t sound labored. As for the bassist and drummer, both have their shining moments, but fittingly evaporate for the better part of the record.
Opener “Hiding” is a mid-tempo number that best displays the band’s newfound predilection for light rock, with accessible guitar riffs, warming vocals, and a bounding piano part. Both the title track and “All I Wanted Was A Cigarette” are examples of former This Is Me Smiling, as both are relatively constrained and tranquil, while “The Movies” experiments with spoken word, minor R&B elements, and even some rapping that the vocalist pulls off perfectly. Speaking of experimentation, “The Thought of You” finds the vocalist reaching high into his falsetto throughout, and also contains a garage-rock influenced solo. “Nothing To One” and “It Started To Rain” are both strident tracks that simply fall in the category of rock, and shrug off all pretensions of indie or alternative rock, despite having slight qualities of both. They fall in the category of the raucous “Mixing Up Adjectives” from the self-titled, and have a framework built of electric guitar and fairly fast-paced drums. Closer “Manage To Manage Yourself” could’ve come right off of
This Is Me Smiling and is a slow-burning epic that focuses on sweeping piano and vocals.
Lyrically, This Is Me Smiling deserve an award at this point. Remember the randomness found on the self-titled, like the song about loving sleep? That’s found again here, though slightly more focused. “Nothing At All” and “Hiding” speak of the fickle nature of the human race and the importance of respect, while “All I Wanted Was A Cigarette” speaks of just desiring the simple things in life. “The Movies” contains the clever line “I was given a chance to redeem myself-for a recent series of mistakes- but did not take it- realizing immediately afterward-that doing afterward- was in itself- another mistake” and also talks about “living like a hermit-and getting pissed when forced to go out.” Both of these gems are well-written and extremely relatable (especially to me, considering most of the time I’ve spent since I turned sixteen has been in the house, and trust me, everyone can relate to the first line). That aside, This Is Me Smiling is still extremely adept and intelligent in their writing.
