Control, by Constant Smiles

Control

by Constant Smiles

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cdjunkie Sometimes an album comes along that strikes an immediate chord, this is one of those albums. Melodic beautiful atmospheric melodies that resonate within me. This is a solid album from a new favorite band. Favorite track: Away To Relate.

brantly A surprisingly diverse lo-fi pop record that sounds a bit like an opiated Wild Nothing meets The Clientele. also touches on the current roster of Funeral Party Records bands, Black Marble, The Cannanes and even kinda sounds like if Woven Hand was an indie-gaze band, which is quite rad. A fantastic blurry-eyed, snowy-foot-shuffle walk home from the bar record, and one of the best of '20 without a doubt.

beincrauste Constant Class
Blistering & Beautiful
Want more
Can’t wait for me T shirt
# 7 floating

Erick Medeiros Based off the two streamable songs. I’m going to love this!

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1.	Felt 04:08	buy track
2.	Only Love 03:32	buy track
3.	You're On Your Own 02:41	buy track
4.	Thawing Out 02:48	buy track
5.	Seeing Change Everywhere I Look 03:36	buy track
6.	Swells 02:49	buy track
7.	Floating 02:56	buy track
8.	I Hope To See You Again 02:31	buy track
9.	Open Up 02:36	buy track
10.	You Are Still Out There 02:51	buy track
11.	All Drugs 03:22	buy track
12.	Away To Relate 02:43	buy track

about

The latest Constant Smiles album, Control,  is a richly atmospheric and rewarding experience, blurring the lines of dreampop, shoegaze, and psych while building its own singular sonic world. The creative force behind the Brooklyn-based group is the prolific songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Ben Jones, who has created dozens of albums’ worth of music in his home studio. Control confronts what he has now named his “destructive creative drive,” and in turning the machine back on itself, he has managed to create his most transformative work to date.  

Control follows 2019’s John Waters, and it  anchors Jones’s signature reverb-drenched grooves in a palpable intensity. The multi-layered guitar tracks are lush, but there's a crooner’s depth here, akin to the best Chris Isaak songs. Soothing wah-wah pedals and drifting vocals blend with driving drum tracks to hypnotize the listener, while never losing command of their full attention. On standout tracks like “You're on Your Own” and “All Drugs,” Jones and his collaborators wrangle every musical trick they have mastered and infuse them with a bare and poignant  vulnerability. The listener is invited into a deeply intimate and personal space to join Jones as he processes an intense period of personal grief through musical alchemy. Across Control’s 12 tracks, you can hear the artist diving deep into his internal conflicts, grappling with addiction, the aforementioned destructive creative drive, and scarring loss.

“Writing, collaborating on and recording  Control  has been a process of personal transformation as an artist and a person,” Jones says. “During the past year I’ve reexamined everything in my life, and in the process learned to create music and an existence that  is  more sustainable, letting go of the things I can’t control. This ultimately leads to a deeper pool of creativity.”

In addition to finding greater depths of creativity, Jones has also allowed his vocals to come to the front of the mix more than in previous recordings, and the resulting sound puts  Control  in the lineage of great singer-songwriters like Elliott Smith.

Growing up on Martha’s Vineyard, Jones worked at Aboveground Records, a hub for the tiny island’s surprisingly vibrant arts community and music scene. “Everyone was always playing in each other's bands, home recording, performing. It was amazing,” Jones recalls.

Control taps back into that community, and it’s the most collaborative Constant Smiles record to date. Jones worked with co-producer Mike Mackey, along with a long list of musical kindred spirits, including Spike Currier, Nina Violet,  Adam Lipsky,  Celeste Glavin,  James Whitehead,  Sofi Thanhauser,  Blaze Bateh,  Bridget Collins, and  Adam Howell.  “I love that you can create a whole world within an album,” Jones says of the process of collaboration for Control. “You expand the dimensions and richness of that world by including other people’s songs in the mix, keeping the collective spirit of the community alive.”

credits

released June 19, 2020

All songs written, played, and produced by Constant Smiles as part of the New York Trilogy
Except "Swells" by Adam Howell & Constant Smiles
Recorded in The Ashram, The Void, The Backshack, and Leanne’s House in 2018/19

Constant Smiles
Mike Mackey
Spike Currier
Nina Violet
Adam Lipsky
Celeste Glavin
James Whitehead
Sofi Thanhauser
Blaze Bateh
Bridget Collins
Adam Howell
Chris Geller

James Whitehead - Lead Guitar - #1
Nina Violet - Viola - #2
Adam Howell - Guitar - #6
Celeste Glavin - Vocals - #7
Spike Currier- Bass - #8, #11

Mastered by Matthew Cullen
Mastered for vinyl by Adam Boose at Cauliflower Audio
Cover layout by David Correll
Back cover layout by Nick Kulp
Images Scans by Julian Master
Special thanks to: Caleb Braaten, David Correll, Mike Mackey,
Adam Lipsky, Jeff Conklin, Mike Barnes, Celeste Glavin, Spike Currier,
WVVY, Drawing Guts, Bridget Collins, Brad Sanders, Ben Goldberg,
WFMU, Dan O’Connell, Will Roan, Carrie Schaff, Rachel Negro,
Blaze Bateh, Chris Liberato, Maya & Gardner, Farley Glavin,
Matthew James-Wilson, Matthew Cullen, Adam Sierzputowski,
Kevin Cornell, Walter Malsch, Jeanne Staples, Doug Jones,
and Leanne Emerton

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about

Constant Smiles Massachusetts

Over the last half decade, the music collective Constant Smiles has produced a prolific output of acclaimed music, culminating in their forthcoming record Kenneth Anger, masterfully brought to life by engineer Jonathan Schenke (Parquet Courts, Liars, Dougie Pool). The group is known most recently for their much-praised debut album for Sacred Bones records, Paragons, produced by Ben Greenberg. ... more

constantsmilesmusic.com

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Control

by Constant Smiles

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Control

by Constant Smiles

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contact / help

Streaming + Download

$7 USD or more

Handmade CD
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*Limited Edition Collage Test Pressing LP
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album