[Watch] Smith Westerns Look Depressed in the Video for "Idol"

Smith Westerns new album Soft Will is pretty good, ten songs that perfectly capture a sense of youthful decadence. When it comes to parties, though, apparently Cullen Omori, Cameron Omori and Max Kakacek are too cool for everyone else. Or too depressed. In their video for "Idol," they sit around a table as a party rages around them. People are smoking weed, drinking beer and stealing cookies, but nothing seems to phase the indie rock trio. Check out the clip below.

[Listen] Smith Westerns Summery Ballad "3am Spiritual"

Smith Westerns return with another cut from their upcoming third album Soft Will, due out on June 25th. This new song, titled "3am Spiritual," sees the trio tapping into the sunshine-soaked ballads of the 1960's, complete with melancholic yet hopeful lyrics and upbeat instrumentation. This is one to play during those summer road trips. Stream it below.

[Watch] Smith Westerns' Video for "Varsity"

Smith Westerns have always had a carefree attitude about them. Their music gives you the feeling that life is fleeting, so enjoy it while you can. Director Alan Del Rio Ortiz perfectly captures that in the video for the band's new single "Varsity," which follows the dream-like love of two twentysomethings. Watch it below.

"Varsity" is the first single from Smith Westerns' upcoming third album Soft Will, due out on June 25th. The band has also announced 2013 tour dates, which you can check out after the jump.

Smith Westerns 2013 Tour Dates:

07-21 Nashville, TN - Exit In
07-23 Washington, DC - Black Cat
07-24 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
07-26 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
07-27 Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
07-28 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret Mile End
07-29 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
08-02 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
08-05 Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room
08-06 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
08-07 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
08-09 San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Festival
08-10 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
08-11 Pomona, CA - The Glass House
08-12 San Diego, CA - Casbah
08-15 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
08-16 Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
08-17 Vancouver, British Columbia - Electric Owl
08-20 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
10-04 -10-06 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
10-11 - 10-13 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival

[Listen] Stream Smith Westerns' New Single "Varsity"

Smith Westerns made plans back in November of 2011 to get working on a third album, the follow-up to 2011's excellent Dye It Blonde, and those plans are finally coming to fruition. The band has been hard at work in El Paso, Texas, teaming up with producer Chris Coady to record the LP. As Pitchfork reports, the finished effort is titled Soft Will and features 10 tracks, one of which you can hear today.

The song, titled "Varsity", is the closing track on the album, and sees the band embodying '60s pop sensibilities. Flourishing guitar riffs, soft ballads, and delicate synthesizers surround this lighthearted cut from start to finish. Stream it below.

Soft Will drops on June 11th via Mom+Pop.

Soft Will Tracklist:
01. 3am Spiritual
02. Idol
03. Glossed
04. XXIII
05. Fool Proof
06. White Oath
07. Only Natural
08. Best Friend
09. Cheer Up
10. Varsity

[News] Smith Westerns Unveil 2012 Tour Dates, Make Plans For LP #3

Earlier today Smith Westerns announced tour dates for early 2012. I know, there aren't 400 tour dates covering every small town in the US and every big city worldwide. It's a bit of a bummer, but this is actually good news for the Chicago trio because after this short stint of dates they're locking themselves in the studio and plan to not come out until album #3 is complete.

After much success with their sophomore album Dye It Blonde it's hard to not be happy that we'll be getting more music from them next year (which is just around the corner now!).

Fri 1/27 TORONTO, ON Horseshoe *#
Sat 1/28 MONTREAL, PQ Il Motore *#
Sun 1/29 BOSTON, MA Paradise *#
Tue 1/31 NEW YORK, NY Webster Hall *#
Wed 2/1 WASHINGTON, DC Black Cat *#
Fri 2/3 CHICAGO, IL Metro *#
Sat 2/4 MILWAUKEE, WI Turner Hall *#
 
# = w/ Porcelain Raft
* = w/ Bleached 

[Listen] Smith Westerns - "End of the Night" (Peaking Lights Remix)

Peaking Lights have given the remix treatment to the Chicago based Smith Westerns' "End of the Night" and the result is this tripped out track you can stream below. Hat tip to Dummy Mag for the upload and stream.

Smith Westerns - End of the Night (Peaking Lights Remix) by DummyMag

[News] Arctic Monkeys and Smith Westerns Announce Tour Dates

This Fall, Arctic Monkeys will join forces with Smith Westerns in an epic tour across both North America and Europe. The two bands will also boast backup from TV On The Radio, Panda Bear, and Warpaint during various legs of their tours, as well, Das Racist will be joining Smith Westerns during the Pitchfork Music Festival afterparty. You can check out all the tour dates for both bands after the jump, and head here to watch the music video for Arctic Monkey's Suck It and See single "The Hellcat Spangled Shangrilalala."

Arctic Monkeys 2011 Tour Dates:

08-01 Dallas, TX - The Palladium Ballroom
08-02 Austin, TX - Stubbs
08-03 Houston, TX - House of Blues
08-06 Chicago, IL - House of Blues
08-07 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
08-10 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
08-11 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
08-12 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
08-13 San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands
08-19 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands - Lowlands Festival
08-20-21 Staffordshire, England - V Festival
08-27 Saint Cloud, France - Rock En Seine
08-28 Munich, Germany - Energy in the Park
09-03 Bologna, Italy - I-Day Festival
09-23 Las Vegas, NV - The Pool @ The Cosmopolitan @*
09-24 San Diego, CA - SDSU Open Air Theatre @*
09-25 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl @*#$
09-28 Vancouver, British Columbia – Orpheum Theatre *
09-29 Calgary, Alberta, Canada – MacEwan Ballroom *
09-30 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – The Odeon *
10-01 Winnipeg, Manitoba – Burton Cummings Theatre *
10-03 Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room *
10-04 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant *
10-05 Nashville, TN – War Memorial Auditorium *
10-07 Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live *
10-08 Sunrise, FL - Langerado Music Festival
10-09 Tampa, FL – The Ritz *
10-11 Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle *
10-12 Raleigh, NC – Disco Rodeo *
10-14 Atlantic City, NJ – Showboat Atlantic City *
10-15 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live *
10-16 Columbus, OH – The LC Pavilion *
10-18 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE *
10-28 Nottingham, England - Capital FM Arena *
10-29-30 London, England - The O2 Arena *
11-01 Cardiff, Wales - Motorpoint Arena *
11-02 Manchester, England - MEN Arena *
11-04 Birmingham, England - LG Arena *
11-05 Newcastle, England - Metro Radio Arena *
11-06 Aberdeen, Scotland - AECC *
11-08 Glasgow, Scotland - SECC Hall 4 *
11-09 Liverpool, England - Echo Arena *
12-30 Marion Bay, Tasmania - The Falls Music & Arts Festival
12-31 Lorne, Victoria - The Falls Music & Arts Festival
01-07 Busseltown, Western Australia - Southbound Festival

* with Smith Westerns
@ with TV on the Radio
# with Panda Bear
$ with Warpaint

Smith Westerns 2011 Tour Dates:

07-15 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall (Pitchfork Music Festival afterparty) !
07-31 Montreal, Quebec – Osheaga Festival
08-04 Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
08-05 Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
08-13 Osaka, Japan – Summer Sonic
08-14 Tokyo, Japan – Summer Sonic
08-18 Hasselt, Belgium – Pukkelpop Festival
08-19 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands – Lowlands Festival
08-25 Groningen, Netherlands – Noorderzon Festival
08-26 Paris, France – Rock En Seine
08-27 Reading, England – Reading Festival
08-28 Leeds, England – Leeds Festival
09-03 Los Angeles, CA – FYF Fest
09-13 Norman, OK – Opolis
09-14 Dallas, TX – Club Dada
09-16 Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Festival
09-23 Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas @*
09-24 San Diego, CA - SDSU Open Air Theatre @*
09-25 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl @*#$
09-28 Vancouver, British Columbia – Orpheum Theatre *
09-29 Calgary, Alberta – MacEwan Hall Ballroom *
09-30 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – The Odeon *
10-01 Winnipeg, Manitoba – Burton Cummings Theatre *
10-03 Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room *
10-04 St. Lois, MO – The Pageant *
10-05 Nashville, TN – War Memorial Auditorium *
10-07 Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live *
10-08 Sunrise, FL - Langerado Festival
10-09 Tampa, FL – The Ritz *
10-11 Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle *
10-12 Raleigh, NC – Disco Rodeo *
10-14 Atlantic City, NJ – House of Blues @ Showboat Atlantic City *
10-15 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live *
10-16 Columbus, OH – The LC Pavilion *
10-18 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE *
10-28 Nottingham, England – Capital FM Arena *
10-29-30 London, England – 02 Arena *
11-01 Cardiff, Wales – MOTORPOINT Arena *
11-02 Manchester, England – Men Arena *
11-04 Birmingham, England – LG Arena *
11-05 Newcastle, England – Metro Radio Arena *
11-06 Aberdeen, Scotland – AECC *
11-08 Glasgow, Scotland – SECC Hall 4 *
11-09 Liverpool, England – Echo Arena *

! with Das Racist
* with Arctic Monkeys
@ with TV on the Radio
# with Panda Bear
$ with Warpaint

[Watch] Smith Westerns Premiere Short Film 'Die With Your Chin Up'

Smith Westerns: Die With Your Chin Up from stereogum on Vimeo.

Following the release of Dye It Blonde in January, indie-rock band Smith Westerns have been garnering a lot of attention. Starting on April 25th, the Chicago trio will be touring across North America, with a bunch of the shows having already sold out, and are even set to perform at this years Sasquatch! Music Festival. Upon nearing the end of their recording sessions for Dye It Blonde, the band invited director Ray Concepcion, who has directed videos for bands like The National, Diamond Rings, and Panda Bear, into the studio to film the end of the recording process. The short film, titled Die With Your Chin Up, premiered over on Stereogum and can be seen in its entirety above. And, after the jump, you can check out all of the bands upcoming tour dates.

Smith Westerns Tour Dates:

04/25 New York, NY - The Bowery Ballroom *(SOLD OUT)
04/26 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's *
04/28 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar *
04/29 Raleigh, NC - Kings Barcade *
04/30 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade *
05/02 Montgomery, AL - Montgomery Performing Arts Centre #
05/03 Mobile, AL - Saenger Theatre Mobile #
05/04 Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree
05/05 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jack's
05/06 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater #
05/07 Denton, TX - University of North Texas Main Auditorium #(SOLD OUT)
05/08 Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom #(SOLD OUT)
05/11 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
05/21 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern ^(SOLD OUT)
05/22 Pomona, CA - The Glass House ^
05/23 Hollywood, CA - The Music Box ^
05/24 Hollywood, CA - The Music Box ^(SOLD OUT)
05/25 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore ^(SOLD OUT)
05/26 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore ^
05/27 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom ^
05/28 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom ^
05/29 Quincy, WA - Sasquatch Festival
05/31 Aspen, CO - Bell Up Aspen ^
06/01 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre ^
06/02 Lawrence, KS - The Granda Theatre ^
06/03 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note ^
06/04 Cincinnati, OH - MOTR Pub
06/06 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre ^
06/07 Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre ^
06/08 Montreal, QC - Club Soda ^
06/09 Boston, MA - Royale ^
06/10 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre
06/12 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
06/16 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club ^
06/18 New York, NY - Terminal 5 ^ 

# = w/ Wilco
^ = w/ Yeasayer  
* = w/ Unknown Mortal Orchestra