THEE MIGHTEES
Smiling
Delicious Clam – 7th September 2015
With the sudden release of their first LP, ‘Smiling‘, within a few months of forming, it would be easy to question whether Thee Mightees may have taken too hasty an approach to proceedings. Yet within minutes into the record, it’s obvious they’ve been ready since before they even knew. Their arrival this year embodied the instantaneous desire for progression that followed the home-grown ethic of their label, the highly commendable gang over at Delicious Clam. In going hand in hand with their label’s proactive approach to recording and releasing, the group work on everything on their own, simply for the joy of doing it. In being members of various groups including The Hipshakes and Best Friends, Thee Mightees have brought that well-trodden experience and a familiar confidence to their self-made recordings, all the while sounding like a completely different prospect from each other’s work in other bands.
‘Smiling‘ is thirty minutes of immensely enjoyable guitar-pop, rallying rough harmonies with deadpan humour and a touch of self-depreciation. ‘Romantic Notion‘ delivers sincere susceptibility with determination, ‘The Prettiest Girl’ withholds a sweet spirit through it’s punk abandon and ‘Cream man’ envisioning a delectable Shangri-La with ice cream at it’s core, a simple concept that’s too joyous to come across as elaborate. The ease the group have in writing a melody makes it all the more sweeter, displaying such fluidity as a group that have only played together for the short amount of time they have.
The uncomplicated effectiveness on show is furthered by Thomas Shore’s lyricism, a witty character who’s self-depreciation is delivered with impassive, almost humorous relativity. ‘Sometimes’ revels in the notion of it being ok to feel bereft sadness, dealing with it in swift verse; “Sometimes I love you, sometimes I hate you, sometimes I miss you, sometimes I want you“. Shore pines for a loved one and throughout is hit by unrequited love’s obstacles, yet delivers with such sarcasm it verges on uplifting; “Happy? Not really, no.” ‘Smiling’ finds Shore undaunted about being honest with himself, using his state of mind to relate rather than as a defensive mechanism.
Thee Mightees have delivered a gem of a pop record, one that is unafraid to be vulnerable but isn’t going to stop you from having a little awkward dance in the process. It plays within both extremes, a light-hearted approach to a serious mood, and in doing so really gives the record an added weight with something more to delve into.