FRESH NEW TRACKS

Zak Smith – “Raise The Moon”

Brendon Goldwasser

Take a listen to the refreshing single “Raise The Moon” from New Jersey artist and songwriter Zak Smith. Zak has been building quite the buzz over on the East coast, so naturally we had to show him some West cost love, because we really enjoy the tunes he’s been creating. There are subtle Americana influences and he definitely adds a touch of some classic folky melodies and slow tempos, drawing from the likes of Elvis Costello and Neil Young. It’s truly authentic, from the heart, and carries a unique warmth to it.

We can expect to hear songs like this among many other solid tracks on his new album, Signs of Life, which is officially out today! This is also his most personal and certainly his most accomplished album to date. Having been a songwriter and performer for fifteen years, Smith has built an extensive collection of original tunes, many of which appear on his studio albums and many more exist only in demo form in his archives. For this project, he re-recorded ten songs from various stages of his career, updating them to reflect new technical abilities and new musical concerns. In doing so, the arrangements changed fundamentally, as Smith took what had been full-band rock songs, full of spiritually inquisitive lyrics and heart-on-sleeve drama, and stripped them down to their barest bones: guitar, piano, and his own finely grained voice. I don’t know about you, but that sounds awesome. Stream his single below and be sure to check out his official website for more new music!