Seattle's favorite rock shapeshifters, Smokey Brights, are back in full force with their latest single, "Peace Sign Pentagram." A cocksure, electrified stomp of a song, it's been a time and then some since the band landed on our radar in 2018, to be precise, but their triumphant return is anything but unmemorable.
Trading vocals with an easy, natural grit, the band tells a textured story drenched in bittersweet nostalgia. The song is something of a beautiful contradiction, emotional and reflective, yet spoiling for a fight. The title alone, "Peace Sign Pentagram," shadows dualities: love and chaos, harmony and rebellion.
Anchored by a chorus that kicks like a mule, seriously, this thing does not so much stick as slam the song barrels toward a conclusion that erupts as if it has been reining itself in for decades. It's loud, it's brazen, and it doesn't apologize for anything. There's storytelling at work here, a meticulously plotted anthemic rise that's earned, that makes you want to punch your fists into the air and shout along without knowing why.
Marking their sophomore LP, "Dashboard Heat," due in September 2025, on Seattle non-profit label Share It Music, "Peace Sign Pentagram" is a brash preview of what's to come. If that song is any indication, then Smokey Brights aren't just back, but they are on fire, for listeners who love a fiery chorus, indie grit, and that sweet spot where retro rock curls its lip at modern muscle.
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