Throughout Smile, the harmonies create a warm, welcoming glow. The generally positive feeling of the lyrics is matched by the music. Even Better Days, a sad song about having lost a chance at a great love, gleams thanks to Louris' empathy and warm harmonies. Louris also finds mellow bliss on Broken Harpoon, a beautifully simple ballad with just his unassuming voice and acoustic guitar and an inobtrusive atmospheric synth, and Mr. Wilson, where Louris' vocal about being protected by a guardian angel is broken by a carefree whistle. While finding many moments of quiet greatness, the band doesn't have the same desire as on Sound of Lies to consistently achieve sublime, delicate sound.
Smile is often just about having fun.
By, a fairly mindless straight ahead rocker, singing he's out of here to a woman he never loved and letting loose on his guitar. The dumbing down goes too far on Pretty Thing. Bass player Marc Perlman wrote Trouble, a brilliant song from Sound of Lies, but his main contribution to Smile is pointless, bitter and draggy. Wildest Dreams has a perky charm but the story about an unworthy band with a hit, with its ridiculously frenetic electronic beat, is basically a dopey throwaway. And Baby, Baby, Baby ends Smile on a very high note, encapsulating the record's optimistic feel of Louris trying to share his happiness.