Video: David Shane Smith, ‘Shampoo’

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If the world is going to hell, David Shane Smith is working on a very fine soundtrack. The L.A. songwriter, who’s released four records in the past two years, deals in shape-shifting instrumentation – guitar tones, synth lines and electronic beats are mere silly putty in his hands – and his fragile voice narrates all manner of horrors. Imagine Ariel Pink and Grandaddy having a who-can-get-weirder contest. The title track of Smith’s new EP “Shampoo” suggests that we mind what we wash down the drain, and Sasha Gransjean’s video for the song will leave you on pins and (hypodermic) needles. Some of the stuff on Smith’s previous two releases, “Control SM” and “Perfect Forms,” will test all but the most experimental-minded listener, but “Shampoo” is an example of avant-pop at its sharpest, front-loaded with engaging sonic elements, back-loaded with a strong message.

||| Download: “Shampoo”

||| Also: Get the whole EP and two albums on Bandcamp for name-your-price.

||| Live: David Shane Smith opens for LA Font on Nov. 17 at the Silverlake Lounge.