Skanking outta West London's Ladbroke Grove, dub-punks SMILEY & THE UNDERCLASS pave the way for their debut album with a new video, and they're launching it exclusively with Vive Le Rock!
'It's All England' is the opening cut from Rebels Out There, which the Ladbroke Grove band recorded at the studio of Mick Jones of THE CLASH. It was produced by legendary DJ, remixer and sound system guru Nick Manasseh.
Says Smiley, “I remember listening to ‘Taxman’ by The Beatles and wondering who Mr Wilson and Mr Heath were. It's the same with talking about David Cameron, Theresa May or even Trump. The themes are there and are pretty obvious for anyone who's willing to listen: environmental apocalypse, inequality, the death of reason and the rise of bullshit. The weird thing was that we wrote the album before the Brexit vote and the US elections. We were singing about building walls and making truth long before these arseholes came and turned reality on it's head.”
Alongside Smiley on rhythm guitar and vocals, the Underclass are Jay Hirano (drums), Ryan Windross (bass) and James Shephard (lead guitar).
Set for release on 14 July through their own Bredda Records, Rebels Out There is available to pre-order on CD and download here.
Smiley & The Underclass have a summer of dates ahead, including performances at Bearded Theory and Glastonbury. Catch them on the road at....
12 May - New Cross Inn, London
26 May - Bearded Theory Festival, Walton On Trent
2 Jun - Mau Mau Bar, London
24 Jun - Hootananny, Brixton, London
25 Jun - Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, Somerset
14 Jul - Spanky van Dyke's, Nottingham
Smiley & The Underclass on Facebook