Smart Went Crazy

Easily the most cynical of the D.C. Dischord bands, Smart Went Crazy combine the Psychedelic Furs-like ironic and honest portraits of their surrounding scene with well-orchestrated, edgy punk in the vein of Shudder to Think. The band started as a studio project with Chad Clark (vox, guitar, piano), Abram Goodrich (bass), and Hilary Soldati (vox, cello) and added Tony Dennison on drums to record the Cubbyhole EP released on their own label Cozy Disc. They began playing live shows as a quintet with Jeff Boswell on guitar and farfisa in their native Washington D.C. and Devin Ocampo came in after Dennison late in 1997. Their 1996 full-length, Now We're Even, begins the band's ultra-black humor and noisy brand of art-punk. Con Art shows the band at their best with razor-sharp portraits of old lovers and depraved friends falling over Ocampo's mid-tempo tumult drumming and Soldati/Clark's sing-sneer vocals. The group disbanded shortly after their 1998 tour.