Smoking Kills

In this age of the Darwinian superheros-an entertainer is supposed to do it all, effortlessly. With only so much talent spread oh-so-thin, of course, the ranks are now replenished with the talentless-a bunch of people who can't sing, captivate the attention of a national audience by singing badly, after which they are scolded for not being able to sing. Entertainment? It sounds like a penal colony. There are alternatives. Saviors, even. Four of them, the Four Norsemen of the Apocalypse, come to liberate the living and the brain-dead. The Disciplines. Three Norwegians, ex-members of Nordic pop success story Briskeby, and one American, Ken Stringfellow, whose extensive resume' includes founding one of the 90's most critically acclaimed bands, The Posies; touring worldwide with R.E.M., and providing terawatts of energy and talent to artists such as Big Star, Lagwagon, Snow Patrol and Neil Young. The Disciplines shoot from the hip and aim for the head. SMOKING KILLS is snarly, but catchy; direct, but not dumb; winky but not snarky. The songs race by in brutal efficiency, and within the garage-y production you might miss the delicate smattering of wordplay.