Smoking Popes - At Metro

Their first performance after seven years, Smoking Popes’ At Metro is a reunion tour, a fast-paced and energetic live performance, a best-of collection, and a reason for the group to stay together. I’d never heard this Chicago-based band before, so I can’t compare this performance to their recorded tracks, but this DVD/CD makes it clear even to newcomers that Smoking Popes should stay in it for the long haul. Three brothers, three guitars, a drummer, and a cocktail of classic adrenaline-pumping shreds coupled with pop lyrics make for songs that will satisfy those in it for the music as well as those in it for the soul. This will probably also satisfy vocal coaches around the world, as Josh Caterer, who also writes most of the songs, can actually sing. In their wonderfully unusual cover of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s “Pure Imagination,” Josh’s voice floats over the notes—as it does even through the more aggressive tracks, like “I Know You Love Me” or in songs that call for a more agonized croon, like “Pretty Pathetic.” It’s not an ethereal sound, it’s actually quite down-to-earth, but he’s got enough of a range and quite a bit of power that helps him blend the lows enough to blow the roof off the highs, all while remaining loose and lucid enough to keep the lyrics intelligible. This vocal quality also keeps the songs from being simply punk or pop or post. If you don’t like extended bridges and can’t deal with straightforward lyrics, then Smoking Popes isn’t the band for you. But before you rule them out, listen to a song like “Writing a Letter” and tell me the vocals aren’t catchy. And then listen to “Brand New Hairstyle” and show me the rock bands out there that can still rip up a guitar like that. And then try out “Paul” and see if the easy hook doesn’t rip out a bit of your heart. If you’re still trying to convince yourself that this isn’t the type of music you’d like, listen to “Stars,” which, in milking the chorus over a series of graduating scales alone, manages to win the whole audience over. Did you really expect profundity from a band called Smoking Popes? When it rocks this much, there’s something to be said for simplicity. [www.smokingpopes.net]