indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band from
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, United States, composed of brothers Cullen and Cameron Omori, Max Kakacek, Julien Ehrlich and Hal James. Their musical influences included
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
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. Founded by Michael Goldstone in 2008, its roster includes Alicia Keys, Courtney Barnett, Magdalena Bay, Madeon, Tom Morello, Porter Robinson, Maya Hawke, Tycho, Tash Sul ...
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, Max Kakacek, Julien Ehrlich and Hal James. Their musical influences included David Bowie, T. Rex (band), T. Rex ...
began a solo career, signing to
Sub Pop Records
Sub or SUB may refer to:
Places
* Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB
People
* Bottom (BDSM), or "sub" for "submissive"
* Substitute teacher
Christianity
* Sub tuum praesidium, an ancient hymn and prayer dedicated ...
, 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 S ...
,
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 S ...
, and touring keyboardist Ziyad Asrar formed the band Whitney.