The Smugglers - "Rock 'n' Roll Was Never This Fun"

I can not figure out if I remember The Smugglers at all. They were first active between 1988 and 2004 which was a perfect time for me to discover them. The name sounds kind of like a band I saw open for Ben Folds Five back in 1996, but I'm not sure? Regardless, the Canadian band is about to issue their 1993 album In the Hall of Fame on vinyl for the very first time. They put out a single for the release, and "Rock 'n' Roll Was Never This Fun" needs to be heard. It's from 1993, so it would most likely get labelled post-grunge or bubble grunge, but "Rock 'n' Roll Was Never This Fun" is much noisier than those labels tend to be. It's like this bizarre combination of pop punk and grunge with a heaping amount of garage rock thrown in. Plus, as noisy as it is, there are some really catchy moments that sound like they belong more in a song from the 1960's than the 1990's. This is a great song from a forgotten (or maybe never known) band that is worth revisiting.

You can watch the video for "Rock 'n' Roll Was Never This Fun" below. In the Hall of Fame is due out on vinyl on November 4 on Lavasocks Records and can be pre-ordered here. For more on The Smugglers, check out the band's website.