Smiley & The Underclass

Smiley and The Underclass emerged two years ago from the melting pot of West London’s Ladbroke Grove as the sound of 21st Century multicultural London. Echoing the rebellious call to arms of The Clash and Dylan, infused with the bass-heavy vibrations of Jamaican sound system culture, Smiley sings the revolution blues with a burning fire largely missing from today’s music scene. Heavyweight horns punktuate the skank of urgent guitars driven by relentless rhythms that are guaranteed to put holes in your shoes. As catchy as Arctic Monkeys but South of the border, as young and endearing as Jake Bugg but unadulterated by pop and as cool as King Krule but with a rootikal injection; The Underclass bridge the divide once more between rock and reggae with a flavour of their own, potent enough to awaken all punk rockers and roots rebels in this modern era. The eponymous debut EP captures the promise of what’s to come from Smiley and The Underclass. Produced by Nick Manasseh and featuring the legendary trombonist Vin Gordon, it’s a striking reminder that the time’s long overdue for a raw new sound and this could well be it. The soundtrack to the revolution is here. All you have to do is tune in.... Wicked and wild Dub Punk outta London. "Think Bob Dylan meets The Clash and King Tubby down a dark alley with razor-blades".