All Smiles

Dangerbird has established itself as a label with standards. Their musically intellectual output is one to be reckoned with and Chicago’s All Smiles are anything but an exception. Jim Fairchild, who once was a member of Grandaddy, is moving on. His calm acoustics and delicate lyrics are the perfect prescription to mend summer love gone wrong, or the perfect soundtrack to summer love gone right on a quiet night spent wasting time together — it swings both ways. It’s this versatility found within each cut that makes All Smiles easily comparable to greats like Elliot Smith or Chris Carraba. "Moth in a Cloud of Smoke” starts off with a piano intro and continues to dance along in typical indie rock fashion; it could have made use of a catchier bridge but Fairchild’s silky vocals take care of stunning the ears. The simplistic songs impress with their sultry way of creeping beneath your skin ("Killing Sheep,” "Backward, Forward, Through”). The songs do run into each other and sure, they tend to become less exciting on repeat listens but this is only his debut so it’s only a matter of time before these songs expand their horizons and Fairchild writes an album filled with incendiary work. Consider this a warning.