“It seems lately that terms like “shoegaze” and “dreampop” have been used at such ad nauseum that they have been essentially rendered useless. Any band that so much as uses an effect pedal or feedback has one or the other slapped onto their description.This is unfortunate, because every so often a real, tried and true, dreamy, noisy, poppy, shoegaze band emerges. Fortunately for us, such a band has taken form and materialized from none other than Cincinnati, Ohio. This band is Smut.

Smut is noise pop for the people. Marrying all of the good parts of all of the good genres the band has mastered their craft. Guitarists Andrew Min and Sam Ruschman bring tastefully fuzzed out and distorted riffs to the table; held up by the unmistakably solid rhythmic framework laid down by bassist Bell Cenower and drummer Harold Bon; and at the forefront of it all, is vocalist Tay Roebuck. At times commanding and peremptory, there are other moments where the power of her voice is matched by the rest of the band. Within that control is a distinct effortlessness and this sets her apart while simultaneously fashioning the band’s purist shoegaze identity.

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