Album Review: Smith Westerns - Soft Will

Chicago indie-rockers Smith Westerns saw enough success with second album Dye It Blonde in 2011 to make music their day job. With an average age of just 22 years, the conscientious trio are already releasing their third studio album, Soft Will. Chris Coady (Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) produced Dye It Blonde and was brought in again, recording at Sonic Ranch. Used by many an indie band including Beach House and Animal Collective, Sonic Ranch is a live-in studio on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas.

Better known for their frenetic and fun garage indie-rock, the band take a more leisurely approach for Soft Will. The title aptly describes the sound – dreamy guitar lines and reverb-drenched vocals in mid-tempo pop, like that of New York's Real Estate. The consistency of the album is commendable, and while pleasant enough, it's not ground-breaking. The chorus melodies flourish and build around gorgeous interlocking guitar lines, but the verses are a little bloated. The production washes across the album, getting monotonous with so many songs at a similarly cruising shuffle.

The songs seem caught between concise indie pop and slow sprawling jams. Occasionally the personality and energy of the song is pushed towards the end and there's not always a real suggestion it will be worth sticking around (Fool Proof, White Oath, Varsity). There are a few standout tracks, all of which show more energy and originality in their construction: Idol, Glossed and Only Natural.

While offering consistently pleasant and dreamy summer-tinged tunes, Smith Westerns will not blow minds with Soft Will, and could have afforded a few more risks in songwriting and arrangement.