The Bright Light Social Hour - “Smoked Out”

SXSW 2023 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 7

Pairs Well With…Portugal. The Man, My Morning Jacket, White Denim

While we await word from The Bright Light Social Hour on studio record number five, the Austin mainstays did recently share a couple of big, thoughtful tracks that show-off a band with no quit left heading into 2023. The Bright Light Social Hour are either grounded with precise, jazz-infused playing taking the lead, or adventuring out with psych or blues licks leading the way. Both directions are reeled in with smoothness and effectiveness. “Smoked Out” and “The Sheriff” do take tBLSH sound in new and twisting directions, a sign that the band still has more to say a dozen-plus years into their rewarding career. (Kevin McStravick)

2022 Review: The Bright Light Social Hour followed up expected in 2020 with Jude Vol. 2, a groovy, psych pop collection that shows off the SXSW regulars’ wide-reaching rock palette. It’s among the most patient of their catalogue, leaning a bit more on dream-pop and 80s synth influences than some of their more indie-rock oriented material. While a little slower, it’s still a record filled with funky hooks, songs that can be outright soulful while still under the band’s hazy bounce. The band recently released an eleventh anniversary edition of their self-titled debut, so expect their SXSW set to feature both old and new as they celebrate themselves as a band throughout 2022.