SML How You Been
SML's How You Been stakes a claim as a vividly adventurous record where improvisation and compositional focus meet in sudden, infectious grooves. Critics note that the band tightens ensemble chemistry across the collection, turning modular synthesis, polyrhythms and tape-spliced loops into coherent, otherworldly landscapes rather than formless jams.
Across three professional reviews the consensus score sits at 82/100, and reviewers consistently flag the best songs on How You Been as highlights: “Taking Out the Trash”, “Chicago Four” and “Old Mytth” emerge repeatedly for blending brisk guitar and head-nodding groove with Jeremiah Chiu's interdimensional synth textures. Critics praised “Stepping In / The Loop” as a centrepiece and called the title track's tape-looped scaffolding and hip-hop-inflected percussion a clear sign of the group's genre-blending ambition. Professional reviews emphasize studio polish and tight ensemble interplay even as the band preserves spontaneous collage-like moments.
Some reviewers emphasize the album's tilt toward planned-out compositions and rhythmic experimentation, while others celebrate the lingering sense of cosmic unease that comes from dissonant passages and ecstatic sax flights. The critical consensus suggests How You Been is a rewarding next step for SML, a record where modular synthesis, groove and improvisatory risk cohere into one of the group's most compelling statements to date, worth exploring for anyone asking whether How You Been is good or what the best tracks are.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Old Mytth
2 mentions
"‘Old Mytth’ [sic] is a standout, showcasing the quintet's ability to interlink beneath skittish sequencing"— The Quietus
Chicago Four
2 mentions
"Earlier tracks like ‘Chicago Four’ sound as if Silver Apples attended Berklee College"— The Quietus
Stepping In / The Loop
2 mentions
"the jolting rhythmic displacement of ‘Stepping In/The Loop’ recall more math-y groups like Horse Lords or Battles"— The Quietus
‘Old Mytth’ [sic] is a standout, showcasing the quintet's ability to interlink beneath skittish sequencing
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Gutteral Utterance
Chicago Four
Taking out the Trash
Plankton
Chicago Three
Daves
Old Mytth
Stepping In / The Loop
Brood Board SHROOM
Odd Evens
How You Been
Moving Walkway
Mouth Words
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
On How You Been SML tighten their chemistry and turn loose improvisation into purposeful grooves, with standouts like “Taking Out the Trash” and “Brood Board SHROOM” showcasing that shift. The record trades formless jam energy for more assured, planned-out compositions, and the title track's tape-spliced loops lead into a thrilling art-rock tumble. “Odd Evens” leans into dissonance and somehow makes unease feel comforting, while “Daves” marries irregular time signatures to ecstatic saxophone flights. The result answers questions about the best tracks on How You Been by pointing to these moments of focused invention and heightened chemistry.
Key Points
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The best song(s) stand out by transforming improvisation into focused compositions with thrilling moments like saxophone solos and tape-loop frenzy.
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The album's core strengths are tight group chemistry, groove-heavy improvisation refined by studio polish, and evocative atmospheres.
Themes
Critic's Take
SML's How You Been reads as an exciting, expansive statement where modular synthesis and ensemble interplay collide, and the record's best songs - notably “Old Mytth” and “Chicago Four” - crystallize that approach. The reviewer revels in Jeremiah Chiu's interdimensional synth work, which propels standout moments like “Old Mytth” into Philip Glass-tinged counterpoint territory. Elsewhere, tracks such as “Chicago Four” and the spidery guitar of “Taking out the Trash” demonstrate the album's knack for marrying alien electronics with head-nodding grooves. In short, the best tracks on How You Been are those that pair Chiu's creative hysteria with Butterss and Stardrum's steady grooves, making the album entrancing and progressive.
Key Points
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The best song is “Old Mytth” because it showcases interlinked counterpoint and skittish sequencing with a clear Philip Glass influence.
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The album's core strengths are Jeremiah Chiu's modular synthesis, the steady grooves from Butterss and Stardrum, and an adventurous blend of electronics and jazz interplay.
Themes
KL
Critic's Take
SML continue to refine their collaging approach on How You Been, and the best tracks - notably “Chicago Four” and “Stepping In / The Loop” - show why the group are so compelling. The reviewer's voice celebrates the quintet's blend of city-rooted heritage and cosmic reach, praising the brisk guitar on “Chicago Four” and calling “Stepping In / The Loop” a wonderful centrepiece. Short pieces like “Plankton” and opener “Gutteral Utterance” are noted for being bursting with ideas, while the title track balances hip-hop percussion with jazz-funk core. Overall the album is presented as another special, forward-moving statement in American jazz that foregrounds improvisation and textural depth.
Key Points
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Stepping In / The Loop is the best track because it is called a wonderful centrepiece and the most engaging improvised piece.
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The album's core strengths are its collage-based composition, improvisatory energy, textural depth, and rhythmic complexity.