Having only formed a few months ago when Sean Scanlon and Michael Kamerman moved to LA and met Joe Intile and Beau Kuther, Smallpools has already made their mark on the indie pop charts. Their indie/electropop sound is infectious and, with a fusion of summer soaked chords, dance-worthy beats, and ineffably catchy lyrics, it won't be long before their tracks are invading your radio air waves.
After forming in early 2013, Smallpools released their first single, "Dreaming", in May and, within a number of hours, the song was at the top of the HypeMachine charts (it reached over 20,000 plays on Soundcloud before the band's facebook page had 500 likes). The band's rise to fame has been so sudden that they did not perform their first live show until this month when they began their tour with Australia's indie pop San Cisco (whose latest album is, finally, available in the US iTunes store). While many bands who reach the charts too quickly due to internet hype are left with too little time to mature and pull out another hit to make their fame last (case in point: Black Kids), these guys don't need any more time to put themselves together to create radio ready, and lasting, music. Smallpools has already created a perfect sound (with a great balance of good lyrics, fun beats, and strong hooks) that begs to be played on repeat and screams summer; the band doesn't need any more time to harness their sound and create something that's fame worthy because they've already got it.
Their self-titled EP was released July 16 and each song is amazing and radio ready. With lines like "we've got no place to go... we've got nowhere to run" and the ever recurring "oh no, please god tell me we're dreaming", "Dreaming" can be nothing less than perfect. The lines are amazing and align so closely to anyone in the band's fan demographic that it's no surprise that this song is a hit; plus, that hook is so awesome that you're going to be humming it for days afterwards. "Mason Jar" manages to maintain an upbeat appearance while supporting sad lyrics and I can't help but love it; the mixture of a line like "a face like stone, the pain begins to show, and it was not right I should've called them off" backed by a steady beat, major chords, and a feel good sounding chorus is too great to ignore. "Over & Over" is an adorable summer romance song. That steady piano melody and the band's ability to create a perfect hook make this song a must-have for any beach day/road trip. The album ends with "No Story Time", showing the bands love for electronically infused indie sounds and ending on a bitter sweet note, reminiscent of the end of summer, as it repeats "don't you leave me alone, don't you let go" over "no story time" as the song falls into a soft, hypnotic, guitar based melody around 1:50, before it crescendos again (slightly) on the repetition of "no story time", before ending abruptly; a pretty perfect representation of summer's end.
The bands self-titled EP is available on iTunes and they are currently touring (check dates here) and working on their debut full length album. Check out the links to the band's webpages below and make sure to buy their debut EP on iTunes now.
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