SONG OF THE DAY: "Don't Fuck With Our Dreams" by The Smith Street Band

The Smith Street Band is a group of Aussie punks who have steadily been releasing fantastic music over the past few years. I first discovered them in 2011 after their album, No One Gets Lost Anymore, got voted the best album of the year on some random blog, beating out Frank Turner's incredible England Keep My Bones by one spot. I had never heard of them, but this distinction definitely made them worth checking out. The opening track on that album, "I Ain't Safe," was all I needed to hear to get me hooked. Now, with two albums and two EPs under their belt, along with relentless touring and an increased presence in the U.S., they are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve.

The group is led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Wil Wagner, who specializes in brutally honest lyrics and screaming his voice hoarse on a song-by-song basis. They play a unique blend of folky indie-punk that is at once catchy and emotional, heartfelt and heartbreaking. Many of their songs are have extended bridges that break from the song's original structure but end up blending right back in by the end. All told, there's really no one else out there who sounds quite like them, and there are few bands producing music of such quality with the same frequency.

The best word I can use to describe The Smith Street Band is exhilarating. Their songs sound like the moments that make life so great, the moments that make life worth living. I hear a song like "I Want Friends" and I realize that I've been living my life all wrong, but since I'm listening to The Smith Street Band, at least I'm doing something right. This is life-changing music. These are stories about seemingly unremarkable people, but upon learning more about them, you realize that each and every person on the planet is incredibly remarkable, yourself included. The band has a way of making the mundane seem astonishing, and that's what life is really about: finding the beauty in the ordinary.

I'm still kicking myself for missing The Smith Street Band when they rolled through town opening for Frank Turner last October (we thought we would get there right on time to see them, but ended up completely missing their set). Luckily, this band isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and they'll probably be headlining their next U.S. tour. "Don't Fuck With Our Dreams" comes off their 5-song EP of the same name released last year that combined some of their best songs with their best production yet, and it features one of their signature breakdowns in the bridge before erupting in an loud, boisterous finish. The energy and hooks are enough to make you listen, but the lyrics are what will keep you coming back. Just listen to those first few lines. It just doesn't get any better than that. Check the song out below!