Proper Smoker, the debut LP from indie-supergroup Blunt Bangs, is proof that power pop remains perennial. Boasting a lineup that includes Reggie Youngblood (Black Kids) on guitar and vocals, Christian “Smokey” DeRoeck (Woods, Deep State, Meneguar, Little Gold) on guitar and vocals, and Cash Carter (Tracy Shedd, The Cadets) on drums, Blunt Bangs’ debut melds the canon of 90s indie rock with a spark of optimism for these uncertain times.

Following a move to Athens, GA from Jacksonville, FL, Youngblood and Carter settled into the storied scene and recruited veteran song slinger DeRoeck (who had previously moved to Athens following his tenure in Woods) to round out the band’s central songwriting unit. If the result is a tightly-spun collection of hooks that sounds like longtime friends making music for themselves with the hope that others would also enjoy it, that’s by design -- that was precisely Blunt Bangs’ plan all along. As Carter attests, “This band gives me the opportunity to play music with my friends that I would love listening to. We made a record we wanted to hear.”