Bad Copy

Columbus, Ohio-based band Smug Brothers released their latest full-length album, Pinhole to Vortex, last month. Recording began in June 2024, overlapping with sessions that would ultimately produce their 2025 LP Stuck On Beta. Across four guitar/drums tracking sessions and an additional solo acoustic session, Melton and drummer Don Thrasher—along with bassist Kyle Sowash and guitarist Ryan Shaffer—recorded more than twenty-five songs, continuing to write new material almost until the recording machine stopped rolling.

Today, the band has released a new single, “Picasso Waltzes,” along with a B-side entitled “Champion of the Patio.”

Bandmember Kyle Melton shared the following about the new duo of songs:

“Picasso Waltzes” was on the cusp of not making the album up until the very end of tracking sessions. Once we put the trumpet line on [courtesy of Carolyn Dever], it jumped up and into the final album running order, and ultimately up to becoming the third single from Pinhole To Vortex. It’s a good tale of magical nights the unfold into existential quandary and relegation to accepting the madness for what it is. The non-album B-side “Champion of the Patio” was one I recorded by myself one day for consideration on the album. It has a good jangly thing happening and another hopeful tune of keeping tabs on what matters in your life; “the freedom of the hours.”

Stream the new tracks below and make sure you grab your digital copy of Pinhole to Vortex on Bandcamp or – for those vinyl lovers – get a physical copy via Midheaven here. And keep checking back for more from Smug Brothers!