more from
Green Monkey Records
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Smashface

by The Hitmen

supported by
Zzzm.
Zzzm. thumbnail
Zzzm. god, this feels like such a gift.
Mubla Na Thguob
Mubla Na Thguob thumbnail
Mubla Na Thguob So yeah, this album was recorded back circa 1988-1990 apparently (the timeline isn't that clear even from the info here on Bandcamp where they're selling the original vinyl from 1989, but then production notes state that it was recorded in 1990. I don't know if this is a mistake or if this was a band of time travelers, but the music is excellent and The Hitmen should have been huge!
/
  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    “Smashface mixes an eclectic batch of influences into an infectious set of songs that will alternatively have you shaking your head and singing along. Guitarist/songwriter Joe Leonard is the driving force here – his bottomless bag of guitar tones and techniques alludes to everybody from Andy Gill and Will Sergeant to Jimmy Nolan and Eddie Van Halen, sometimes all at once, and his colorful synth excursions further fill out the bands varied sound. Singer/songwriter Mark Palmer manages to keep up with solid rhythm guitar chops and an endearingly nerdy voice that sits comfortably amid the melodic chaos. Echoes of power pop (“Medicine Hat,” “Perfect Pain,” “Ice Age”), soulful balladry (“This Must Be the Place”), funk (“Cold War”), saloon crooning (“My Love Ran Out”) and, er, heavy metal/ska/psych/pop (“Thrasher’s Corner”) keep the record eclectic, but the band’s consistent writing and appealing personality tie everything together with common threads. Spin Smashface and become the first member of the new cult of the Hitmen.” Michael Toland – The Big Takeover

    Includes unlimited streaming of Smashface via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Smashface via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

1.
Ice Age 03:20
2.
The Stuff 02:49
3.
Cold War 02:27
4.
5.
6.
Saturday 02:27
7.
Medicine Hat 02:58
8.
9.
I Can Fly 03:30
10.
11.
12.
Repeat 02:15

about

Twenty years ago I went into a small studio with Arnie, Joe, Bill and Dan. This is what we came out with. It combined their fine musicianship and general weirdness with what was probably the pinnacle of my eight-track recording/production skills. As songwriters go, Joe was pretty much a weirdo, but you can’t listen to The Stuff without thinking there is something wrong with Arnie as well. And no matter how weird they got, Arnie sang them with aplomb.

This record was really fun to make. We didn’t worry too much about whether they could do every little bit live, we just made the coolest damn record we could. We pulled in your basic Northwest cast of thousands to sing, to play some bits here and there, and to help make Smashface the masterpiece that it is.

credits

released October 31, 2010

Mark Palmer, Lead Vocals, R. Guitar; Joe Leonard, L. Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals; Dan Swank, Bass, Backing Vocals; Bill Bowman, Drums, Backing Vocals.

Additional and welcomed musicians:

On The Stuff: Jon Auer, Ken Stringfellow, Keith Livingston, Backing Vocals; On My Love Ran Out: Jeff Kelly, Piano; Mike Jones, Clarinet; On This Must Be the Place: Jimm McIver, Backing Vocal. The Angelic Voices (This Must Be… and I Can Fly): Ava Chakravarti, Marie Chauvan, Wendi A. Dunlap. The Ice Age Choir: Jon, Ken, Keith, Jimm, and Mark from above, also Casey Allen, Tony Driscoll, Todd Davis and the Guy from Handful of Dust.

Produced by Tom Dyer

Recorded at TDS Productions, January 1990.

Basic trax recorded with Conrad Uno at Egg Studios.

Remasterd by Tom Dyer at TDS Productions 2010.

bonus tracks:

Instrumental is previously unreleased. Recorded at Egg Studios 1988 by Conrad Uno, produced by The Hitmen.

Perfect Pain and Tiger Carpet originally released 1988 as Green Monkey single GM031, Engineered by Keith Livingston, Produced by Tom Dyer.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

The Hitmen Seattle, Washington

The Hitmen were no-hit wonders; they were obscure in 1990 and totally forgotten by 2010. None of that dilutes the magnificence of SMASHFACE. Its brilliance lies in its artful precision as well as its raw eclecticism. This is the evidence and you are the witnesses: The Hitmen had their shining moment and made their one great record. ... more

contact / help

Contact The Hitmen

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like The Hitmen, you may also like: