Enter the world of Smushie’s ‘Doofus Casanova,’ where humour, sincerity, and an array of sonic experiments combine to create an enjoyable and captivating musical journey.
Taking inspiration from his hometown, Smushie channels fellow Long Island, New York musical ancestors Lou Reed and Billy Joel in Doofus Casanova; a nostalgic, charm-filled expedition through the cracks and crevices of Smushie’s musical sensibility.
Loaded with humour and charged with an underlying sincerity, Doofus Casanova is amusingly sure of itself. Take Fryeburg Fair for instance, a seventies back beat with a controlled analog touch and layered harmonic vocals.
Cartoonish piano lines with earnest melodies and lyrical longing, it is a difficult combination to master, yet Smushie does so with finesse and carelessness. There is a pervasive manic energy that works as a scene-setter – late nights and delirium, heartache and crazed dread.
Produced solely by Smushie, Doofus Casanova acts as a showcase of immense talent and authenticity. With groove-filled interludes like Party of Three and relaxed, transcendent opener Sharp Edge, Smushie marries past and present sonic tropes with precision and jocularity.
Yuck Your Yum is a refreshing alter-ego – in which Doofus Casanova is full of – that sees Smushie’s vocal proficiency shine. Cookey instrumentation but deceptively complex, Yuck Your Yum is a little Beatles during their Yellow Submarine.
You could die, sings Smushie repeatedly, interspersed with cheerful, if not deluded, falsetto vocalisations. My First Bag laments on money – the lack of and its acquisition. Holler takes a more assiduous stance in its actualisation of love.
Smushie never loses his voice, his imitability, as he shape shifts at a near constant rate. Whichever face he wears, he wears it as if it has been there all along. Doofus Casanova exists in its own vacuum of sound – interpreting sonic experiments and melding them into something cohesive and whole, though consistency unexpected.
The best thing about Smushie and his Doofus Casanova is the enjoyment emanating from every corner of the record. Perhaps that’s why Smushie continues to amass streams, a growing pile of listeners seduced by his passion and amusement at himself, the world, and the music itself.
Smushie is a remarkable producer, and Doofus Casanova is no small feat to complete entirely on one’s own.
Listen to Doofus Casanova below.
Review by Caitlin Norris.
