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B-Sides
Rock · 2007

B-Sides

Smile Empty Soul

Stripped-back post-grunge rarities. Raw acoustic skeletons and unpolished demos that trade radio-ready sheen for intimate, bruised vulnerability.

2007 · MRAfia Records

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B-Sides is a stark departure from the polished, radio-ready angst that defined the mid-2000s post-grunge boom. It feels less like a commercial product and more like a private transmission from a basement studio. The atmosphere is thick with the scent of stale coffee and the quiet hum of an amplifier. By stripping away the massive wall of distorted guitars and the compressed drum sounds of their major-label work, Smile Empty Soul reveals the skeletal, folk-adjacent heart of their songwriting. It is a record that sounds like the quiet hour after a long, exhausting day where you finally have to face your own thoughts.

Moments Worth Listening For
The transition from a delicate acoustic strum to a strained, raspy vocal peak in the bridge of a demo track.
The way the background room noise bleeds into the start of a song, making it feel like you are in the booth.
A sudden, unrefined electric guitar solo that cuts through a primarily acoustic arrangement.
Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does B-Sides sound next to the rest of Smile Empty Soul's catalogue?

Low Energy-2.3σ

It runs markedly cooler and more held-back than this artist's baseline.

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