A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness sounds like it was composed after spending all night thinking about summer crushes and long gazes into someone's eyes. That's probably the best explanation for song titles such as "Kisses as Promises" and "I'm Lost Without You." It's pretty much what I expected; melodramatic dreaminess with more than just a hint of twee and shoegazer pop.
"Kisses As Promises" and "I'm Lost Without You Here" are organ-drenched pop symphonies full of chiming guitars and breathy male-female harmonies reminiscent of Ecstasy & Wine-era My Bloody Valentine. On the other hand, "Heather" sounds inspired more by the band's Loveless-era output, with hazy guitars and female vocals shimmering somewhere below the pulses and drones.
Ultimately, A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness suffers because of its sentimentality. It's so concerned with being earnest and winsome that it ends up wallowing in itself. Musically, it means that the album is often content to play the same 3 notes, or the same organ melody over and over until you wish they'd move onto something new. However, the album barely clocks in over 30 minutes, which is just about right for Rocketship's particular brand of pop indulgence. Still it's hard to ignore the wide-eyed innocence that pervades a song like "Kisses as Promises" or "We're Both Alone."
