Smokescreens – Used To Yesterday

Nostalgic garage rock

Smokescreens strike that perfect balance between garage rock sound and simplistic lyricism in their latest release Used To Yesterday. In just ten tracks, Smokescreens manage to stay true to the mix mentioned above, but in a way that makes for some easy listening, which is perfect to add to the list of summertime jams.

Used To Yesterday opens with the track, “Someone New” and it can be credited with starting the album off with the perfect balance mentioned above. There is something about the guitars in this song that feel somewhat nostalgic and this feeling only intensifies when the vocals are introduced into the track. Lyrically, there isn’t much depth to this track, but it isn’t in a negative way by any means; the repetitive nature of the lyrics throughout match up well with the rest of the song.

“Jolly Jane” is a standout track on the album due to the upbeat nature of it, which makes it difficult to not want to listen to over and over again. The upbeat feel along with the bass line throughout the song compliment each other greatly and it makes a solid track. On the level of the lyrics, this song is fun because there is a story being told throughout the entirety of the song, unlike the tracks prior to this one. It is also nice to have a slight change-up in the vocalist because it offers a fresh face to the track.

Later on the album, “Waiting For Summer” starts with a definite summer vibe to it as it possesses a beachy sound to it as well, which goes hand-in-hand with its summertime setting. Listening to the lyrics might make you nostalgic for memorable childhood summers, or even just driving with the windows down in your car while it is sunny out. This track is a strong one because it makes the listener feel a wide range of things while listening to it.

The last track on the album, “Falling Down” does a good job of wrapping everything up. The song itself has a sound about it that makes it feel like it should be the end of an already fairly solid album, and at the same time, it balances everything mentioned before as far as a signature Smokescreens sound is concerned. Yet again, it is another song that is sure to get the listener hooked on what Smokescreens has to offer.