I (usually) have a spot-on memory and I knew that I already owned a 7” by this band but, for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what they sounded like. That’s not a good sign, for starters. So I dug it out and threw it on as a memory jolter and I quickly remembered why I didn’t pay these guys much mind. You see, Smart Cops has members of L’Amico Di Martucci, Ohuzaru, and La Piovra: all of whom I loved! Starting from L’ADM, all bands succeeded the prior in that exact order and while there wasn’t much progression in their styles, every band just seemed to get better and better. That first Smart Cops EP just sounds too similar to La Piovra and I couldn’t get into it. It’s too bad that this full length wasn’t my introduction to Smart Cops because I would instantly have been all over them. The speed dial has been turned down from full speed ahead to a steady/winning mid-pace. The guitar work is no longer just a buzzing of thrashing riffs: these are some catchy, crafty hooks that demand your full attention. The vocals are much more full of harmony and less raspy and yelled. Dare I say this is a more rockin’ version of L’ADM/La Piovra? In any case, these Italian stallions won me over big time with this record. Now if they could just ditch those cheesy matching costumes.
–Juan Espinosa (Sorry State, no address)