I first heard Smoking Popes back in the early nineties, when “I Need You Around” was featured in the movie Clueless. It wasn’t until I saw drummer Mike Felumlee had played drums on Alkaline Trio’s 2001 record “From Here To Infirmary”, I that I decided to dig into the Smoking Popes’ discography a little more. Smoking Popes are a four-piece band from Chicago, formed in 1991. In their almost 30 year career, they’ve shared the stage with huge names such as Jawbreaker, Morrissey, Green Day and more.
![](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/com.apathyandexhaustion.wordpress.storage/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/spopes2_hovland-copy.jpeg)
1994’s “Born To Quit” along with 1997’s “Destination Failure” are two records that I regularly go back to, so I was more than stoked to see that they had a new record coming out.
“Into The Agony” is everything that I wanted it to be. Ten tracks of catchy pop punk, and the first record to feature the original line up of The Caterer brothers and Mike Felumlee since 1998.
![](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/com.apathyandexhaustion.wordpress.storage/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/smoking-popes-current.png)
From cracking opener “Simmer Down” through to politically charged alt-country ballad “Melting America” (featuring guest vocals from Flatfoot 56’s Tobin Bawinkel), and closing with crooner “When Will I Smile Again” which is effectively “Pretty Pathetic 2:”, this record is most definitely a return to form for the Chicago legends.
Stand Out Tracks: Simmer Down, I Can Feel You, Amanda My Love, Someday I’ll Smile Again
Rating: 8/10
FFO: Weezer, Jets To Brazil, Jimmy Eat World