The Heatskores - Smile… Tomorrow Will Be Worse

Mike St. Jean
Layout & Design Editor

Every once in a while you will have the great fortune of finding an energy-filled CD that, for lack of a better term, absolutely knocks your socks off. Unfortunately, more times than not, after seeing said band live you leave disappointed, as their performance did not live up to the expectations their album created.
Enter The Heatskores, whose 2005 album, Smile… Tomorrow Will Be Worse, will entice you to start a band of your own, while their concerts will make you second guess your own musical ability.
The Heatskores are, first and foremost, a live band, one that creates enough energy to power an entire city as soon as they hit the stage and strum the first guitar chord of their set. Early releases from the Newmarket, Ontario 4-piece failed to capture this energy, however, this disc definitely does them justice, to say the least.
This album will quickly become an instant favourite for all punk rock and ska fans. Just like their shows, Smile… Tomorrow Will Be Worse contains a frantic passion for music that most bands cannot even dream of possessing. The blend of fast paced punk and up-beat ska will leave the listener craving much more music than this 36 minute release contains, but thankfully the album’s 16 tracks provide enough variation that they will seem as fresh as the first time you heard them for years to come.
From the first note of the album’s opening track, “I’ll Break Your Face,” the listener will quickly realize this band means business. Other must-hear songs include the ‘slower’ paced “Same Old Story,” the patriotic Canadian anthem “Don’t Wanna Be American,” the nostalgic “New New Newmarket Blues,” and “Emo for Sale,” which effectively sums up the seemingly never-ending amount of negative messages in today’s popular music.
Unfortunately, new listeners will not have the benefit of ever seeing the band live, as they broke up in late 2007 after 10 years of playing live and living the do it yourself lifestyle. But thanks to this album, which would ultimately be their last release, their legacy will live on as one of the most passionate bands you have probably never heard of.
Although The Heatskores likely didn’t plan to go out on top, Smile… Tomorrow Will Be Worse definitely allowed them to do just that. Fans of Choking Victim, Leftover Crack, American Distress, INDK or countless other punk/ska bands will definitely want to check this album out immediately.