Who wants to smoke the Pope? (In the dirty way.)

Still not listening to Statues? You're a failure as a human being.

What about other bands whose named start with "S?" If you said Smoking Popes, you got a trick cee-gar with your name on it.

Punk rock has it's crooners. The first two that spring to mind are Matt Skiba and Glenn Danzig, who sound like this weird amalgam of Roy Orbison and Joey Ramone. Who's the Tony Bennet of the punk set? Gotta be talking about Josh Carterer of the Smoking Popes, one of the crucial bands in the development in the Midwestern sound. If you've ever wondered why Dan Andriano sounds the way he does, check out Born to Quit.

Ok, so we all know Midwest punk bands (ok, at least the modern ones that matter) are hung up on Morrissey, Leatherface (who're from the UK), Jawbreaker and Crimpshrine (SF), and the local crunch of modern legends like Naked Raygun. But who brought this sound kicking and screaming into the world before the Gainesville punks shoplifted it and ran amok like basement DIY kids in a vegan candy store dumpster? Smart money's on the Popes and their emotional alt-rock take on pop-punk. Carterer sings like a tattooed Rat Packer, cramming vocal talent into half-time punksaw pop gems, effectively paving the way for their bratty progeny in Alkaline Trio and the Lawrence Arms.

Not so surprisingly, a spot on the Clueless soundtrack and rave reviews from Morrissey himself landed the boys on a major label contract with Capitol. They failed to really connect with their rad single "Need You Around" because teenagers weren't really ready to cry in public yet. I'll leave you to decide whether this is a good thing or not.

Anyway, blah blah blah label trouble blah blah blah "we don't hear a single" blah blah blah Josh found Jesus etc. As usual, the songs should really do all the talking. Hope you enjoy.

PS - Andrea wanted me to mention her name. This counts, I guess.

Let's Hear it for Love: http://www.mediafire.com/?9yd1xbid3al

Just Broke Up: http://www.mediafire.com/?6h7jxh2tcxc

Megan: http://www.mediafire.com/?e09exffygmc

Gotta Know Right Now: http://www.mediafire.com/?7k9v0vxmybb