Smith Westerns were an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

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Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States, composed of brothers Cullen and Cameron Omori as well as Max Kakacek, Julien Ehrlich and Hal James. Their musical influences included

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, T. Rex and

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History

''Smith Westerns'' (2009)

Their self-titled debut album was released on

HoZac Records HoZac Records is a record label formed in Chicago, Illinois, United States in late 2006 by Todd Killings and Brett Cross after the demise of ''Horizontal Action Magazine'' (1997–2005). Concentrating on releasing records from musicians of the ...

on June 5, 2009. Most of the album was recorded throughout the winter and early spring in Max Kakacek's basement.

''Dye It Blonde'' (2011)

They released a new single, "Weekend", on November 4, 2010, from their album ''

Dye It Blonde ''Dye It Blonde'' is the second studio album by the band Smith Westerns, released on January 18, 2011 on Fat Possum Records. Critical reception ''Dye It Blonde'' received acclaim from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a ...

'', which was released on January 18, 2011.

''Soft Will'' (2013)

The band signed to

Mom + Pop Music Mom + Pop Music is a New York City-based independent record label whose current roster includes Courtney Barnett, Madeon, Tom Morello, Porter Robinson, Tycho, Tash Sultana, Sunflower Bean, Beach Bunny, Caamp, Del Water Gap and more. Founder an ...

on March 5, 2013, and released '' Soft Will'' on June 25, 2013, following up from their 2011 LP, ''Dye It Blonde''. The first single off the album, "Varsity," was released March 6, 2013. The album has received mostly positive reviews upon release.

Later work and breakup

On December 13, 2014, the band announced that they would go on an indefinite hiatus. They later confirmed that they were permanently breaking up. Since the breakup,

Cullen Omori Smith Westerns were an American indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois, United States, composed of brothers Cullen and Cameron Omori as well as Max Kakacek, Julien Ehrlich and Hal James. Their musical influences included David Bowie, T. Rex and ...

began a solo career, signing to

Sub Pop Records Sub is a common abbreviation of words beginning with the prefix "sub-". Sub or SUB may also refer to Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB Computing and technology * , an HTML tag for subscript * SUB designat ...

, while

Max Kakacek Whitney is an American band from Chicago, which formed in 2015 and is signed to Secretly Canadian.Deusner, StephenBiography ''Secretly Canadian'' The band was formed shortly after the breakup of members Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich's band Smit ...

Julien Ehrlich Whitney is an American band from Chicago, which formed in 2015 and is signed to Secretly Canadian.Deusner, StephenBiography ''Secretly Canadian'' The band was formed shortly after the breakup of members Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich's band Smit ...

, and touring keyboardist Ziyad Asrar formed the band

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith Westerns Garage rock groups from Illinois American glam rock musical groups Indie rock musical groups from Illinois Musical groups established in 2007 Musical quartets Musical groups from Chicago Fat Possum Records artists Mom + Pop Music artists