Reddogs past and present gathered together in the intimate surrounds of the Pot Music Bar for the launch of the eagerly awaited debut album, filmclip and website of local electronic/multimedia avant garde-ists Smear. The Pot is quickly gaining a reputation as the venue of choice for purveyors of intelligent electronica (with Nam Shub of Enki and Alanrock being just two of the recent visitors), and the vibes are definitely in the air tonight - the moody lighting of the red globes encircling the the venue and closeness to the performers complementing the claustrophobic nature of Smear's music perfectly. Pete and Bec were clearly preaching to the converted tonight, with a near full house by the time their set began and a constant stream of punters making their way through as the night progressed. Their blend of harsh industrial sounds, eerie synth drones and clattering trip hop beats evoked images of cityscapes torn asunder, of roads with no end and no direction. And when Bec pitched in with some wailing of the vocal calisthenics variety, it was almost as if she was crying out against the oppression of the evil forces which the music conjured. The combination of these tunes with images of construction sites and open highways worked well, if at times the visuals seemed to meander on without any real connection to the music. Small quibbles aside, s+m for the ear stands on its own as an album of truly international class. ~Kris Swales~ ~Bec Pic by Tony Fox~