S.M. Wolf “Precious Downtime” 2021. Romanus Records. Limited edition (50 copies) tricolor variant. Until now I was completely unfamiliar with Indianapolis’ S.M. Wolf but since one of my life goals is to have one copy (or more) of every Romanus Records release, I ordered one of these when it was released at the end of August. Precious Downtime is catchy and melodic, buzzy and shimmering indie pop with a dash of psychedelia.  It’s S.M. Wolf’s fourth album and, according to one reviewer (who I will trust since I haven’t listened to those other three records), the LP is lighter and more optimistic, which is interesting as the band recorded most of the material during the pandemic (as the record’s title alludes to) and without the benefit of being together as a full band for most of it. My top tracks include the lead track “Good Vibration (not that one..dream No. 1)” (the title makes me laugh), “Heinous Scepter” (the record’s title is part of the chorus and despite the name of the song it’s a really upbeat track), the rocker “Let It Go,” “Bangkok” which is just lovely and accented with some unexpectedly soaring trumpet and the supremely mellow closing tracks “The Sun Dies Too (automatic No. 2)” and “A Brighter Day.”

S.M. Wolf headlined Romanus Fest last month – the fest doubled as their record release party – and I’m super-bummed we missed it; we’ve made it down to Indianapolis for all the past Romanus Fests and I’m hoping we can get there in 2022 – maybe S.M. Wolf will perform at it again – their music is pretty much perfect for a late summer outdoor evening festival.