American punk newbies Charming Scars don't mince words on their debut single, "Smart Tart." They didn't come to play nice but to play loud. It's all bite and no filler in this track, and it shreds through the alt-punk scene like a busted amp on fire.
"Smart Tart" is a gnarly groove that nails you in place from the instant its first jagged guitar is strummed, in which soured hooks meet acerbic thought. It's fleet, raw, and has attitude for days. The vocals enter like a scuffed boot to the gut, snarling, salty, and unapologetically honest. There's a self-assuredness here that doesn't need to try too hard because it doesn't have to. The band turns punk clichés inside out, delivering lines that sting with sarcasm and wit.
The structure is audacious and unorthodox, with rhythm shifts and chord changes that come across as tectonic rather than typical songcraft. When you think you've figured out its rhythm, it throws a curveball that arrives straight in the strike zone.
The chorus is an all-sugar-rush melody smothered in distortion, made to be screamed from sweaty mosh pits and bedroom mirrors. The production lands in that happy medium between dirty and tight, scuzzy guitars on top of a rhythm section that never relents.
Charming Scars makes a case that despite being relatively new to the game with "Smart Tart," they don't intend to ride anyone's bench. They're here to rattle cages, and if this debut is any indication, punk's pulse just got louder.
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Reviewed by LyricalOdyssey Music
on
May 22, 2025
Rating:
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