Live Review: Smile, Pool Boys

The SMILE guys can be described as 'evangelical', 'soft rockers', into 'slacker ballads'; and they could be your new religion too if you share a passion for quips on Christianity.

They play a bite-sized half-hour show at your favourite corner beer store The Tote, supported by Pool Boys, which is a mixture of musos from Ciggie Witch and The Ocean Party playing tracks with more of a pop sound.

Without guitarist Max Turner this week, SMILE's set is mellower than usual, with a lot of tracks coming off their first EP, Life Choices. Apart from their track Sunni Hart, which is a minute's worth of energetic ladylove recognition, their vibe is pretty laid-back, with each song effortlessly bleeding into the next. Guitarist and lead vocalist Pete Baxter has an impressive range, both topics- and voice-wise. He can sing about anything from Milo to Jesus. Liam Gough on drums (House Of Laurence) gets his moments to speed things up in Sunni Hart and Born Again. You notice Josh Delaney (from lots of other bands) on bass most on Born Again, which is also definitely the tune to get stuck in your head on the way home — especially its bridge. They also play some fresh ones, Holiday and Old Boys, which will be on the new LP. It's safe say that this band constitutes a Sunday afternoon soul warming.