{"id":45755,"date":"2026-06-20T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45755"},"modified":"2026-06-15T18:58:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T22:58:26","slug":"smirks-nick-vicario-confronts-the-old-self-on-new-single-abide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45755","title":{"rendered":"Smirk\u2019s Nick Vicario confronts the old self on new single \u2018Abide\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nick Vicario has been around the block a few times \u2014 Portland punk scenes, indie pop detours, substance-fueled chaos in LA \u2014 and on his new single as Smirk, he&#8217;s reckoning with all of it. <em>Abide<\/em> is the latest preview of the upcoming album &#8216;Speculative Fiction&#8217;, due July 3 on Smoking Room, and it hits like a gut punch wrapped in a jangle. Think lost Pixies B-side from the <em>Surfer Rosa<\/em> era, filtered through the dusty twang of Gun Club and a guitar solo straight out of J Mascis&#8217;s back pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<em>&#8216;Abide&#8217; is based on an old British hymn that I reworked to be about the looming end of a long friendship,&#8221; <\/em>Vicario explains.<em> &#8220;It&#8217;s about that slow drift where nothing really happens, but you can feel it fading and you aren&#8217;t trying to fix it.&#8221;<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6u2FFlzzZrA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-CA&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Slowing Down to Speed Up<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8216;Speculative Fiction&#8217; marks a real pivot for Smirk. Where earlier records leaned into punishing speed, this one pulls back and breathes \u2014 more Big Star and The Paul Collins Beat than anything from the hardcore playbook, with the DIY scrappiness of Guided by Voices holding it all together. It&#8217;s a record about looking back at past-self wreckage while trying to live cleanly on the other side of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;When I was writing &#8216;Speculative Fiction&#8217;, a lot of that dealt with the &#8216;old me&#8217; and some of the crazy life choices I made while abusing substances,&#8221;<\/em> Vicario recalls. &#8220;<em>So while the record is partially about the &#8216;old me,&#8217; it&#8217;s also very much about putting them in my current world and the new set of problems that come from that.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The album&#8217;s guest list reads like a who&#8217;s-who of underground punk credibility: Ross Farrar (Ceremony), Max Smadja (RIXE), Ryan Mangione-Smith (Advertisement), plus live Smirk members who moonlight in Hotline TNT, Poison Ruin, and Pardoner. Recording happened mostly in Vicario&#8217;s home studio, with Ian Rose tracking additional cuts at Daisy Chain Studios in Brooklyn and Andy Oswald handling mixing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0969.jpeg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0969.jpeg?resize=900%2C900&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0969.jpeg?w=900&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0969.jpeg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0969.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0969.jpeg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8216;Speculative Fiction&#8217; track list<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Greetings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Victimry<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cheap Greed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Going Off To Die<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sistine Junk<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dog Years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I Shall Be Released<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Perfect World<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Abide<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ritual Torture<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Interlude<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Shit Song<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Crime Pays<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8216;Speculative Fiction&#8217; is out <strong>July 3 on Smoking Room<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/smokingroom.bigcartel.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pre-save \/ pre-order here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Nick Vicario has been around the block a few times \u2014 Portland punk scenes, indie pop detours, substance-fueled chaos in LA \u2014 and on his <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45755\" title=\"Smirk\u2019s Nick Vicario confronts the old self on new single \u2018Abide\u2019\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[22,23,28,30,1907],"tags":[14378,14377,14297,13863,14299,14376,14302],"class_list":["post-45755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guitar-rock","category-indie","category-music","category-new-release","category-news","tag-abide","tag-jangle-pop","tag-nick-vicario","tag-power-pop-2","tag-smirk","tag-smoking-room","tag-speculative-fiction"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_1050-e1781564218393.jpeg?fit=748%2C700&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2B2TV-bTZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45670,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45670","url_meta":{"origin":45755,"position":0},"title":"Smirk announces new album \u2018Speculative Fiction\u2019 + drops lead single \u2018Dog Years\u2019","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"June 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Growing old sucks \u2014 but sometimes slowing down is exactly the move. Nick Vicario, the mastermind behind Portland-via-LA jangly power pop punk project Smirk, has announced a new album, 'Speculative Fiction', due July 3 via Smoking Room Records. To kick things off, he's sharing lead single Dog Years \u2014 a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Smirk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_0968.jpeg?fit=900%2C597&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_0968.jpeg?fit=900%2C597&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_0968.jpeg?fit=900%2C597&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_0968.jpeg?fit=900%2C597&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39742,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=39742","url_meta":{"origin":45755,"position":1},"title":"The Laughing Chimes shares new gloomy songs in time for Halloween","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"October 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The newest Laughing Chimes single, A Promise To Keep, expands on the band's now familiar jangle-pop sound with blooms and echoes of Southern Gothic rock (think Fables-era REM or the second Pylon album) as well as the ambitious grandeur of late 70s UK post-punk forebears. A Promise To Keep blends\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Laughing Chimes press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/FFE040EA-7CD3-444E-80D8-AF53A611EBCE.jpeg?fit=900%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/FFE040EA-7CD3-444E-80D8-AF53A611EBCE.jpeg?fit=900%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/FFE040EA-7CD3-444E-80D8-AF53A611EBCE.jpeg?fit=900%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/FFE040EA-7CD3-444E-80D8-AF53A611EBCE.jpeg?fit=900%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40589,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=40589","url_meta":{"origin":45755,"position":2},"title":"The Laughing Chimes share two new songs from new Slumberland single","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"May 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Laughing Chimes share two new songs from their new Slumberland single. The Laughing Chimes' newest double A-side single Tomorrow's 87 is another one of the band's potent evocations of 80s & 90s college pop, spiked with tuneful mystery and a restless eye on the present and future of pop.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Laughing Chimes press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/84B48E82-0049-410D-975C-6D5FCDB11A5B.jpeg?fit=900%2C598&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/84B48E82-0049-410D-975C-6D5FCDB11A5B.jpeg?fit=900%2C598&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/84B48E82-0049-410D-975C-6D5FCDB11A5B.jpeg?fit=900%2C598&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/84B48E82-0049-410D-975C-6D5FCDB11A5B.jpeg?fit=900%2C598&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34277,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=34277","url_meta":{"origin":45755,"position":3},"title":"The Rentals share new single + video \u2018INFORMATION (And The Island In The Sky)\u2019","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"May 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Rentals\u00a0have released their new single and \u201850s science fiction-inspired music video\u00a0INFORMATION (And The Island In The Sky).\u00a0The 13th release lifted from the group\u2019s upcoming 16-track majestic double album\u00a0\u2018Q36,\u2019 shows that\u00a0Matt Sharp\u00a0& co. have saved some of their best and most universal music for the final four singles of The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Rentals press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/9BE3E5EE-5E05-41ED-8F5B-B32BF5623420.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/9BE3E5EE-5E05-41ED-8F5B-B32BF5623420.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/9BE3E5EE-5E05-41ED-8F5B-B32BF5623420.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/9BE3E5EE-5E05-41ED-8F5B-B32BF5623420.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/9BE3E5EE-5E05-41ED-8F5B-B32BF5623420.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36423,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=36423","url_meta":{"origin":45755,"position":4},"title":"Massage announce \u2018Still Life\u2019 LP","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"April 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Massage (Ex. 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You can listen to Half A Feeling which is lifted from the LP via SoundCloud below. https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/mt-st-mtn\/massage-half-a-feeling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Massage press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/06DF7EA3-12DE-46C9-988E-AB6EB0D2C3B3.jpeg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/06DF7EA3-12DE-46C9-988E-AB6EB0D2C3B3.jpeg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/06DF7EA3-12DE-46C9-988E-AB6EB0D2C3B3.jpeg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/06DF7EA3-12DE-46C9-988E-AB6EB0D2C3B3.jpeg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42485,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=42485","url_meta":{"origin":45755,"position":5},"title":"Autocamper\u2019s debut album is the jangle pop gem we\u2019ve been waiting for","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"June 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've ever wished Manchester would lighten up a bit and trade in some of its post-punk brooding for something a little more sparkly, Autocamper might be your new favourite band. The quartet is set to drop their debut LP,\u00a0\u2018What Do You Do All Day?,\u2019 on July 11 via Slumberland\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Autocamper press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4550.jpeg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4550.jpeg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4550.jpeg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4550.jpeg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45755"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45758,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45755\/revisions\/45758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}