Smile That Won’t Go Down

Levels of depravity know no bounds as singer Paraic Morrissey leads unsuspecting victims through worlds full of sex, S&M, and even murder over an amalgamation of gypsy and surf guitar rock that British bands seem to do so well.

Filthy Boy’s debut album, Smile That Won’t Go Down, is one of those rare records that actually surprises with every track. On first listen, it’s more of a shock than anything; ‘Naughty Corner’ is seemingly about scholastic S&M while ‘Waiting On The Doorstep’ unabashedly concretes that theme.

A lot of the lyrical content could be laughable, but the band’s affectionate handling of the characters belies this and instead shines a light on areas of life that most people would like to think don’t exist.

Take ‘Mental Conditions’ for example, which follows the rise and fall of a sexual predator named Tony and oddly enough, musically, is one of the more easy going tracks

The songs don’t explain, justify, support, or argue against their characters but instead simply throws them in the faces of the listeners. The underlying message is that these things happen every day, and what are you going to do about it?

Undoubtedly, Filthy Boy’s gypsy/surf gutter rock will draw comparisons to Arctic Monkeys and maybe The Libertines, to a lesser extent. Is that a bad thing? Fuck no. With this record (and hopefully more), Filthy Boy will stand next to those two juggernauts in due time.

Watch ‘Waiting On The Doorstep’ here:

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