Fresh from the rugged Derbyshire hills,
Smiling Ivy burst straight into our fair
city with their intriguing fusion of reggae,
rock, funk and ska.
Writing tunes about anything from rave
culture, Karen Matthews and shoplifting
to Jesus, capitalist hippies and fifty year
old junkies, these guys certainly know how
to sour a pleasant melody with some controversy.
As the brief instrumental that is Dark Dub
fades away and the infectiously funky MRSA bounds
in the tone of the album is instantly set - high-energy
reggae with lashings of rock, indie and ska. However
there are a couple of surprises along the way. The
heartfelt folk song Sunday Morning comes in gently
and soothes the soul after the raw assault that is
Shady Steve. With some nice finger picking and soft harmonica
it seems Smiling Ivy can do just about anything if they
set their mind to it.
As far as a standout track I’d say it’s a toss up
between title track Filtho Nastro and Delightfully
Middle Class. Filtho Nastro is a one half dub reggae
to one half 'kick in the bollox' rock and roll and
discusses and alternative explanation to Jesus gaining
celebrity status. Delightfully Middle Class is an angry tune
lamenting on the sentiment of 'it’s not what you know but who'.
With a fantastic guitar solo and a deep dark bass riff this is
another good'en you should look out for.
With an abundance of ultra-tight drumming,
stylish guitars, witty lyrics and some gorgeous
sax this is a clever album, with many influences and a
definite promise that Smiling Ivy will only continue
to grow and keep developing.