Welcome
We have been making music in the band, in one form or another, for over 10 years. We have been all over the world, we have made three records that we are extremely proud of, we have played well over 500 shows and we have met alot of people and made alot of friends. However, things dont always go to plan and although we have had our ups and downs in the past, we have decided that we need a little time out to think about our lives, think about our music and think about what to do next. We will be back, but for now, we hope you enjoy the music on our page. Thanks for all the support. It means the world to us.
Our new album:
You can order our brand new album, Years, from the below link. Released on July 7th it features 12 tracks including the future single 'Stars Away', 'Long Road Home' and the title-track, 'Years', all of which can be heard above, as well as 'Tell Me A Story', which you should watch the video for below.
Years
£8 - BUY CD!
Buy our previous releases:
V/A - 50 Not Out (compilation CD)
£4 - BUY 7"
Split single with Meet Me In St Louis
£3 - BUY 7" / BUY MP3 (itunes)
Walk Into The Light And Reach For The Sky (debut album)
£8 - BUY CD / BUY MP3 (itunes)
Astronauts (single)
£1 - BUY CD
I Am Not Romeo, You Are Not Juliet (EP)
BUY MP3 (itunes)
V/A - Record Label Shmecord Label (BSM Sampler)
£4 - BUY CD
To read more about these releases go to www.bsmrocks.com
Videos
Stars Away
Tell Me A Story
The making of Tell Me A Story promo video
Our Great And Secret Show
Astronauts (promo video)
Hanging On Every Word (promo video)
Serj (on the prowl)
Praise for 'Years':
Kerrang! 4/5
Taking a steady influence from the last 15 years of American post-hardcore bracket, making them your own and not sounding like ripp-off merchants or, worse, a UK indie band, takes some doing. Luckily with Years, Secondsmile have managed to pull off this trick. Here is a fistful of unhurried, delicate numbers that retain a likeable spikiness and reveal their layers as they unfold. 'Long Road Home', in particular, parcels together youthful rebellion and a climatic finale so well its practically an anthem for nicking a car when you're 14 and driving towards the dawn. Good clean fun, in other words.
The Fly 4/5
The follow-up to their 2006 debut album, 'Years' is the sound of a band who have reached deep in to themselves and found who and where they truly want to be. Recorded with producer Andrew Schneider in New York, this second effort shimmers with elegance and a bruising confidence. There are songs like 'Long Road Home' that are driven hard by vitriolic bitterness and assertive guitars, but there are also ghostly acoustic gems like 'Halfman' which come staright from the dead of night, each note a snowflake caught on the tongue.
Overall, 'Years' is a triumph of progression and evolution, an album that reaches high in to the night sky to claim the stars-and actually succeeds. In fact, Secondsmile could well have been named for this very moment.
Subba Cultcha 5/5
Dorset boys' triumphant return is contender for rock album of the year.
Put July 7 in your diary, folks! Here's a new release to get properly excited about. Following on from the success of their 2006 full-length debut album, 'Walk Into The Light And Reach For The Sky', Secondsmile make a towering, glorious return.
'Years' is the result of much grafting and expense and the results are evident from the first listen. Clearly the band's sound has matured since its inception some ten-or-so years ago and the second album is an inspiring mix of jagged post-rock and soaring, ambient eclecticism. In addition to Secondsmile's masterful songwriting capabilities, the album receives an extra smattering of awesomeness courtesy of production wizard, Andrew Schneider (Cave In, Daughters, 5ive) and mastering guru, Greg Calbi (Ramones, Sonic Youth, Mogwai).
If you only buy one rock album this year, let it be 'Years'.
Rocksound 8/10
Recorded by legendary US producer Andrew Schneider (Pelican, Two Gallants, 5ive) in his Brooklyn studio and mastered by Greg Calbi (who boasts none other than Bowie, The Ramones and Sonic Youth on his CV), young Bridport quintet Secondsmile scrimped and saved in order to make the trip Stateside and pull out all the stops for 'Years', their sophomore full-length release. But was it worth the blood, sweat and interrogations by immigration officials? Brimming with richly textured, dexterously layered guitars, superb lyrical development and an overwhelming sense of maturity, experimentation and lust for life, 'Years' sounds bigger, smarter and better than anything the boys have produced to date. A superb investment.
HighVoltage 5/5
"There are words that need to be heard/for better or worse, who knows?" sings Secondsmile lead singer/guitarist Ross Smithwick on 'Tell Me A Story'. Well let's not beat around the bush, on Years, the second LP from the Bridport, Dorset quintet, it's definitely for the better.
The perfect mix of DIY and big time, it was self-funded and is being released on BSM but was produced in New York with Andrew Schneider and Greg Calbi, who between them have worked with Pelican, Cave In, Sonic Youth, Mogwai and Bruce Springsteen (!).
'Tell Me A Story' itself, with its garden party-cum-hiking holiday video, is brilliant, post-Rival Schools stuff with some of the most self-esteem boosting lyrics ever: "You're two stone heavier / I am sure it's because you're happier than ever". Elation is very much the order of the day, as are grooves and angles borrowed from collaborators like This Town Needs Guns and Radio 4, on the spacey 'Smokestacks', 'Soundtrack To Your Life' and the multi-layered 'Aspen Fears'. The tender moments like 'Good Night, Sleep Tight' and 'The Flaming Heart', which is reminiscent of Parachutes-era Coldplay, are equally excellent.
With the right tours, festivals and radio Secondsmile could follow a Biffy Clyro style trajectory – from noisy conception to the magnificent, ambitious and inspiring band Years suggests they will become. "Right now I just want to sing loud and proud with you", they sing on 'Tell Me A Story' again. We should all join in.
