THROAT’s third album, ”Smile Less” carries a significantly darker tone compared to the band’s previous output albeit the light at the end of the tunnel has always been dim. While the foundation of Throat’s sound remains in 90s noise rock, ”Smile Less” pushes its way through all boundaries, starting off with cold post-punk vibes and ending in a wall of harsh noise. The space between those moments is stuffed with noisy rock music offering the listener the odd chance for groovy booty shake before throwing a curve ball with some industrial sound experiments. The first impression may not be as jarring as on their earlier recordings, but ”Smile Less” is still a demanding listen as Throat have never been poster boys for entertainment value.
Just like ”Bareback” (2018), the band’s second album and first one for Svart Records, ”Smile Less” was recorded at Tonehaven Recording Studio with Tom Brooke, mixed by Andrew Schneider (Unsane, Cult of Luna, Cave In) and mastered by Carl Saff (Big Business, KEN Mode, Young Widows). Artwork was designed by Canadian artist Paul Van Trigt.
Since ”Bareback”, Throat has toured the U.S., played a handful of shows in Finland, celebrated their 10 year anniversary with a double-CD compilation, recruited a new drummer in their ranks and also released an industrial/noise remix version of ”Bareback”.
