SMB Project

Best Orlando band albums that you need for x-mas - The Examiner Orlando

Top reviewed Orlando band albums of 2012 - Booked Promotions

5 out 5 stars

SMB Project is planning the release of their newest CD, Gazing at the World Through Binocular Eyes, in chapters over the course of a year (or so). On April 1 the first chapter containing two songs “Lights and Sounds” and “The Show” will be released.



“Lights and Sounds” is an up-tempo song with a heavy back beat. The music swirls around the vocals in a psychedelic dance, twisting and weaving through the message in the lyrics. In talking about the song, Stephen Belcamino (guitar and vocals SMB Project) said, “[It’s] about being yourself and not caving to social pressures.”



“The Show” has a dark, heavy vibe. The bleak mood created by the music matches the despair in the lyrics. The opening and closing lyrics, “Gasping for air / life is unfair” and “They lied as we cried / there's nothing left to do,” echo the hopelessness felt throughout the song. As described by Belcamino, “[the song] talks about how the landscape of society is changing,” and the lyrics lead one to believe it's not for the better.

“Lights and Sounds” and “The Show” will be officially released on April 1 with a CD release show at The Haven. The show also has Orlando bands Ratham Stone, Los 5 Wire Bandits, Waverly Park, and More Than Planes on the bill.
- Orlando Music Examiner

Floaty dreampop sequences mixed with blasts of shoegaze reverb characterize SMB Project, a four piece alt rock group based in Orlando, Florida. SMBP is often likened to early 90s rockers such as Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, and the Pixies, as well as current indie shoegaze pop groups like Silversun Pickups. Formed in 2006, SMB Project is headed by the male/female vocals of Stephen Belcamino (guitar) and Angela Boshart (bass), accompanied instrumentally by Josh Kaplan (guitar) and Nate Gardner (drums). Their 2008 full length debut, Pivotal, is a dreamy yet sporadically raging love-and-loss album. The EP release show on April 1 ushered in SMB Project’s sophomore album, Gazing at the World Through Binocular Eyes.

The current SMB Project album is titled, Gazing at the World Through Binocular Eyes. This immediately gets me thinking about persons who hold a myopic, closed-minded worldview. What led to the album title?

Basically, the album title suggests that you look at the world we live in through a broader spectrum. Whether it’s love, religion, politics, or whatever. Just to take a step back and really evaluate it and to formulate your own decisions about it.

Hearing “Lights and Sounds,” I instantly think of Smashing Pumpkins, not only in sound but in the defiant tone of the music. What other bands have been your primary influences?

There are so many bands that have individually influenced us all. I would say some of the bands we all have and share as influences would be Weezer, Nirvana, Interpol and Radiohead.

The main message heard in this opening track is “You are who you are, right from the start.” How have you been able to discover your identity as a band since your debut?

The chorus you mentioned actually talks about keeping your identity/uniqueness and not letting society tell you who you are or have to be. The same goes for our band. We just need to keep on writing music that is true to ourselves, always holding on to our own identity.

You have said that your current lyrics “have a lot to do with the current state of our country or on a larger scale, the world.” What worldwide events have most affected your lyric writing?

Foremost, the economy. We have all been affected by this economic situation in one way or another, and it has altered the way we live our lives now and how we move forward. We all have something to say about it and I channel my frustrations through song writing.

There’s an element of grunge era sarcasm in the lyrics to “The Show”: “Come gather around my friends, let’s enjoy the show/Watching everything we know crumble to an end.” It reminds me of Nirvana’s famous chorus, “Here we are now. Entertain us.” Do you feel the world has grown more apathetic over the last few decades?

I don’t really feel the world has grown more apathetic over the last few decades because I feel it has always been this way throughout history. These last couple of years have been a wake up call.

You and I share a love of Silversun Pickups. They had a killer year in 2010, being nominated at the Grammy’s for “Best New Artist,” touring in support of Muse, and even embarking on a headlining tour of their own. How has their recent success inspired you?

They are a great band making great music. We share a lot of similarities which makes them fun to watch and gives us hope that people will like what we have to offer.

You plan to release this album in several chapters over the course of a year, with this two-song EP being the first part of that. What led you to choose this nontraditional path?

Since we are an unsigned band, we figured that instead of releasing an album of 10+ songs with hopefully 2-3 singles and the rest “fillers,” we would just release songs over time in segments that we feel are all singles.

Some of my favorite songs on your debut album, Pivotal, included a floaty dream-pop sound. Can we expect some of that again with future chapter releases?

Of course. You can feel some of that “floaty dream-pop sound” in the bridge of “Lights and Sounds.” I think that sound is part of who we are so as new music is released, I’m sure you will hear it.

Your vocals blend beautifully with Angela Boshart’s on both songs. Will she be taking lead vocals on any future songs?

Yeah, she will be singing a song to be released with the next chapter.

You have been working on a video lately? Tell us about that.

Our video was filmed by Pale Blue Pictures for our song, “Lights and Sounds.” It should be released around mid-April.

Can we look for you on tour in the coming months?

How far we tour really hasn’t been decided yet, but what we do know is that we will definitely be playing other major cities in Florida this summer.

Any final words?

The album will be available for purchase soon on iTunes.

- The Music cycle

Pivotal by SMB Project reels you in with a lovely piano intro, then blasts you with lively shoegaze rock. Delightful dreampop sounds soon follow which have you floating on the clouds. Several songs are filled with the pure electric joy of being in love, bound by the theme, you and me against the world. Enhancing this you and me sensation is the male/female interplay of vocals between Stephen Belcamino and Angela Boshart. His reassuring croons coupled with her piercing calls create a fascinating mix. He sings, “We took a chance.” She sings, “Bound by fate, we carry on.” And together, “Here we are, just me and you.” “Above the Clouds” is a fantastic piece about love and loss. Beginning with a dreamy flow, Stephen Belcamino sings, “We found such peace. The two of us is all we need.” Then in near panic, he asks, “Can’t you feel it? Oh no!...It’s gone.” As if slipping back into his reality-denying dream state, he sings, “Here and now, without a sound…Above the clouds, we won’t come down.” The guitars and drums then enter with a desperate wake-up call while the lyrics plead, “I can’t live without you, face the world alone this time.” Pivotal runs the gamut of bliss and sadness. And though songs like “Rumors” and “Lies” demonstrate an angry streak, SMB Project doesn’t stagnate in raging despair. They move on to hope. In a seemingly paradoxical statement, Pivotal’s final track summarizes, “Looking back, my journey carries on.”
- The Silver tongue magazine

From the first few bars of the opening track (after a brief piano intro), I could instantly tell the SMB Project has grown. Their 11 song album, Pivotal, is the band’s first full length record, and it is a remarkable improvement over SMBP’s past efforts. The bio proclaims a ‘90s alternative rock like sound with the band’s own unique touch. I would say that is an accurate descripition, and I’d like to add a bit of a Smashing Pumpkins influence can be heard. Considering where SMBP was a few years back and where they are now, this album is a milestone and deserves to be in your music library. - Connections magazine

‘90s throwbacks SMB Project celebrate a pressing at Haven, and musically they are one of the most unique upcoming acts in town … I’ve only heard them on myspace & YouTube but the band does create a huge hype. Plus, they do have a smokin’ hot bassist - Orlando Weekly