Public Opinion break down their new album Painted On Smile track by track

To hear Public Opinion at full strength is to hear a punk band with relentless energy and furious drive. Take “Hothead,” the second album on their debut album Painted On Smile, which comprises just over two minutes of soaring hooks, subtle harmonies and the kind of driving garage punk that could get a circle pit swirling at a moment’s notice. And yet that’s just one small part of a much more versatile whole.

Out now via Convulse, Painted On Smile was produced by Ian Shelton of Militarie Gun and Regional Justice Center, and mixed by , and it showcases the breadth of the Denver group’s sound, from the shimmering alt-rock hooks of “Some Don’t” to the understated groove of “Stethoscope” and the gentle acoustic beauty of “Passes Me By.” Painted On Smile kicks ass, certainly, but it’s also at turns playful, experimental and surprisingly graceful.

Public Opinion’s vocalist, Kevin Hart, broke down the album, track by track, for us and offered some insight on the influences and inspirations behind their songwriting, from Third Eye Blind to Mitch Hedberg.

“Drawn from Memory”

“Drawn” was the first song I wrote for the album with “writing an album” in mind, as opposed to just writing songs for the sake of writing songs. I was pushed by Ian Shelton (Militarie Gun, Regional Justice Center) who produced the record to try a bunch of new things in the practice room. The first result of it was this song. I came up with the bass part in the verse initially and then built out the track around it. That and the small chorus lead gets stuck in my own head more than any other instrumental part I’ve ever written. 

In an effort to focus on “album” over song, it also set the tone lyrically for the record. A huge focus of mine was to try and focus on growing and forgiving at the time I was writing. I think this is the best example of it. 

The bridge piece was initially going to be a guest spot, but the person we had in mind to do it was announced on another, bigger record literally as we were discussing who I wanted in the studio. Maybe we’ll get him next time.

“Hothead”

This is the most “Public Opinion” sounding song on the record according to everyone who heard the album in advance. “Hothead” came to be a more traditional, fist-pump punk track than what the rest of the record lends itself to, and that was wildly intentional. I was worried after writing some of the later material that I lost the ability to write cool punk songs, and so I sat down and banged this one out. 

Ian, Taylor and I had a big conversation about this one. The original structure only had the big “rather drink a can of kerosene” hook part at the end of the song instead of being the usual verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure. Ian insisted that what became the chorus was too good to only do once, and his structure was the one that made it to press.

Most of the songs deal with some sort of social anxieties, whether it’s feeling guilty for no reason or something else, but this is the most up-front about my feelings on going out and getting trapped in small talk conversations that make me want to never leave my house again.

“Some Don’t”

“Some Don’t” is my second favorite song on the record. The goal from the jump was to write a big, catchy track 3 in homage to the ’90s rock records that really stuck with me—Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life” or Counting Crows’ “Mr. Jones,” to name a few. 

I also think that between lyrics and melodies, I’m most in my “Saves The Day” bag that I’ve ever been. Realizing that I’m going to die before I can rectify everything that I’d like to was really difficult to overcome, but I think I was able to express the feeling of hopelessness that comes with that sentiment here.

“Stethoscope”

When the demo for this was shown to Taylor, his response was “it sounds like White Stripes.” Now, I still don’t know if he meant that as a good thing or a bad thing, but I do know the final version turned out awesome. As with some of the more stripped down songs later in the record, this was my first attempt at writing a song that’s entirely vocals without hiding behind blaring guitars and cymbals.

In the first demo, I wrote a really great first draft of the bridge and couldn’t believe how cool it turned out. After I showed everyone, I had the unfortunate realization that I stole the entire cadence from an older Fiddlehead song and had to change it up. I’m really glad I discovered that ahead of time.

“Passes Me By”

These are probably the most vulnerable lyrics I’ve ever written, and I think the music matches that energy. Dealing with loss, especially sudden loss, is a brutally tough experience for most anyone. Writing this helped me a lot during a pretty bad patch of my life. Tell the people in your life that you love them while they’re still here.

I’ve never had my intentions while writing music be more misinterpreted than this. The aim: Into It. Over It.-inspired guitar part, Dismemberment Plan lead over the whole thing, and an R.E.M. bassline with melancholy, low register lyrics—yet everyone who has heard this song just says, “sounds like Blink 182, dude.” Oh well.

“Chicanery”

This one is a result of not being good enough at guitar to properly learn old Strokes song and discovering my own song instead. In addition to the nods to Albert Hammond Jr., this song also has parts that I’ve been told sound like Title Fight. I don’t believe that was intended, but when there’s a group of folks with wildly different music tastes and a song gets compared to one of the only bands everyone agrees on, you run with it. 

More exploration of anxiety around people, but with a focus on getting sober and not dealing with the fear of drinking too much and fucking up socially. 

“No Fruit At All”

This was the earliest song we wrote that made the album—I believe the demo was written at the same time as “Heaven Sent” which we released over a year ago now. This is also my favorite Devan track on the record. He contributed a lot to the record with his drumming but this is his standout moment. 

The bridge was especially fun for me to record, as I got to tell Taylor and Ian to, “just keep recording, I’m going to flip out a little. Let me know if it’s sick.” I believe that first take is the one that made it to the final product. Sometimes you get it on the first one.

“Dry Clean Only”

Very rarely does Public Opinion write music all as a group. More often than not, I’ll record phone demos of the structure and skeleton of the song before sending it to the real players to improve the parts on their specific instruments. “Dry Clean Only” is the only song on the record that was written more or less as a group. We did so on tour with Militarie Gun and MSPAINT in November of ‘22 with Antonio, Sebastian and KJ all contributing ideas for parts in real time. Someone has a video of us working the song out with me on drums during soundcheck somewhere on the east coast.

The song title comes from an old Mitch Hedberg joke which I used as a reference to my mother who passed about a year before we wrote it. Dealing with the death of a parent is a strange experience, especially when you’ve had a storied history with them, but it’s still long lasting. “This jacket is dry clean only, which means it’s dirty.”

“Scene Missing”

The final song recorded for the album. We recorded this months after the other songs were finished in California with our friend Christian back at home in Colorado. My friend James from Dazy helped with both the structure of the song as well as adding every layer besides guitar and my voice. I also reached out to a couple of friends for advice with lyrics on this song, which I had never really done before, so thank you to Skylar from Taking Meds and Austin from Rex Tycoon for the assist.

Truth be told, I was very skeptical after being asked to add a fully acoustic song to the record, but everyone who said it was a good idea turned out to be correct as it makes the entire album feel more fully realized to me. 

“Wear & Tear”

Now this one IS my favorite track on the record. I love final tracks that feel like final tracks, and some of my favorite bands are my favorite bands because of their ability to land the finale. I set out to make sure that we weren’t going to end the album we spent so much time on with just another song.

Whenever I hear this song back, I can tell I’m attempting to do a Devotion type thing in the chorus. I’ve never really talked to Mark about that, but I’m curious if he’d recognize what I mean if I did. The bridge has a lot of Turn On The Bright Lights influence that I’m sure comes through to anyone familiar with Interpol.

“Unsatisfied because I want the best at all times” is actually a lyric from a prior short lived band I did with the guys who went on to be the first version of Public Opinion. I think it’s my favorite line i’ve ever written and, while it’s not particularly clever or anything, it sure is particularly me. I’d love for this song to make it into the live set eventually.