Following the zesty and absolutely mind-blowing ‘Taking Out the Trash’, LA’s exploratory quintet SML have released another standout track from their upcoming album How You Been, out on November 7th through International Anthem. The new single, ‘Chicago Four’, is built from a live recording at The Empty Bottle, one of Chicago’s most iconic small venues, and exemplifies the group’s unique approach, where improvisation becomes the raw material for carefully sculpted compositions. ‘Chicago Four’ arrives with another striking visual companion, a hand-drawn black and white animation from Nespy5euro, and you can watch it below.
SML, the LA-based supergroup made up of Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum, and Gregory Uhlmann, has just announced their highly anticipated second album How You Been. This new album represents a significant evolution for the group, building on the groundbreaking sound they introduced with their 2024 debut Small Medium Large. Crafted from recordings of their live shows, How You Been showcases the band’s evolution into a deeper and more self-aware sonic landscape, blending improvisation with meticulously honed production. The band approached every performance in late 2024 and early 2025 as an opportunity to push their sound further, using each show as a generative moment to document their creative expansion. Despite the careful planning behind the recording process, the band maintained their commitment to improvisation, starting every performance without musical direction and allowing the music to unfold organically.
On How You Been, the quintet blends elements from genres like jazz, funk, Afrobeat, kosmiche, and even proto-techno, creating something that feels both familiar and completely new. As the band has evolved, so has their ability to perform and produce, with their fluency both as an improvising unit and a production team reaching new heights. The album is described as a “high-resolution version” of their sound, fully blossoming into its own distinctive form.
Ahead of the album’s release on November 7th through International Anthem, SML have shared the first single, ‘Taking Out the Trash’, a zesty and absolutely mind-blowing track which serves as a perfect and exciting introduction to the album. The single is offered with an animated video directed by Nespy5euro and you can watch it below.
