As noted, Smith portrays his music largely from a folk background with heavy bluegrass influence apparent throughout. Some songs feel like they border on country (like "The Lord My Light") while occasionally Southern gospel influences are felt also (especially on "Take Pride"). Meanwhile, "Soar" contains a moment toward its end that feels lifted from an early Mumford and Sons tune. Although there's plenty of variety among the tracks, the overall feel is one of comfortable contemplation. This allows Smith to move from tracks where doubt is explored (like the opener "Are You There?") to songs where the peace of God is more felt (like on "Welcome Home").
All the songs here derive their inspiration from scripture (with the possible exception of "Every Closed Door"). Half the tracklist pulls from various Psalms, while the others range from Old Testament stories like Job and Abraham to Jesus' parable of the prodigal son. Just as the Psalms vary in emotions and expressions and explorations of faith, so Smith runs the gamut here. The opening track, "Are You There?", is perhaps the darkest, but is fittingly followed up with "Dark Ain't Dark," alleviating some of that pressure. The rest of the album toggles back and forth between doubt and faith with faith ultimately getting more of the spotlight. Standout tracks include "When I Enter Your House," which despairs at the success of sinners but remembers God's faithfulness, and the closer "Look at the Sky," which covers the story of Abraham in a tender and encouraging way.
An initial listen might give the impression that Empty Smith is just doing another take on a bunch of familiar Bible passages set to the backdrop of easy-going folk. But repeat listens show that, in spite of the familiarity found here, Smith manages to approach them in a unique way. It doesn't break new ground, per se, or even give a different angle to any given passage. In spite of this, the songs still feel fresh and sincere, like Smith isn't just regurgitating these passages because that's what Christian artists do, but he's lived through these passages in his own life and weaving his own testimony and emotions into the testimony and emotions of scripture. Empty Smith's self-titled debut may be easy to miss, but fans of soft folk or those looking for fresh takes on well-known Bible passages should give this one a chance.
- Review date: 7/10/24, written by John Underdown of Jesusfreakhideout.com
Record Label: None
Album length: 10 tracks: 40 minutes, 22 seconds
Street Date: May 31, 2024
Buy It: Amazon Music
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Micah Smith: I actually come from a rock and metal background. I fell in love with the bass guitar around age 14 and it got me through my tumultuous early adolescent years. I picked up the guitar around 17 because it was more conducive to songwriting. I spent my late teens and early 20s getting into the DIY music scene, forming bands, playing shows, etc. Music became my god and it turned out to be a terrible one. God saved me at 24. I started a band called The August Guns after that, we worked hard for a few years but dissipated around 2020 when life took a few sharp left turns both musically and personally. Empty Smith is a bit of a return to roots project for me (I'm a country boy raised in the church)
Micah: I chose the name for a couple reasons:
First, my initials are M.T. Smith, so there's the homonym aspect of the name.
Second, a lot of artists I enjoy in the folk/country adjacent genre seem to go by 2 or 3 part names (Benjamin Tod, Vincent Neil Emerson, Willie Watson, etc). I wanted to choose something that would contextualize the music for folks before they hear it while also setting me apart from other artists.
Third, the project was born out of a season of deep pain where I lost most of the things that at the time I thought constituted my life. I wasn't sure if I even had it in me to do music any more. I felt poured out. Empty. But sometimes, God can allow your life to be emptied out so He can fill them with something better: His Presence and Goodness.
Micah: One thing I love about Scripture (And especially the Psalms) is the raw human emotion on display. The Bible isn't a book of happy perfect people who always did everything right and everything went great. There is pain, failure, heartache, loss, and so many other real aspects of human life tucked in the pages. To me, those kinds of real experiences resonate with my heart on a different level than the more popular positive uplifting stuff you hear on the radio. I love me some sad songs. haha.
Micah: I try to put myself in the shoes of the character I am writing from, try to feel what they're feeling, wrestle with the things they're wrestling with. I especially love how the psalms document forever the author having feelings that we typically label as "bad" because they're not positive. When I see the psalmist experiencing anger, doubt, despair, lament, etc, in a strange way it gives me permission to feel the same things and not feel guilty. It gives me permission to be honest. God is big enough to handle my emotions, even the dark ones.
Micah: That song actually came from a few different circumstances. I'm no stranger to the feeling of disappointment both personally and musically. Bands break up. Relationships end. Things we work long and hard for don't always turn out like we want. At the time it can feel devastating. But when I look back on my life, I'm amazed at the fact that God is just as good in His "No" as He is in His "Yes." There are some things that I desperately wanted at the age of 20 that would have destroyed me had He allowed those desires to be fulfilled. I don't always understand it, but the longer I live the more I see how His plans for my life are better than mine.
Micah: Prayer hikes have been an amazing tool. I have learned to sit with the situation, allow myself to feel all the terrible things that come with dark times, and pour it out to God in unfiltered lamenting. Turns out He can handle it. I have found that trusting Him enough to honestly voice my pain has made me so much more aware of His Presence and Goodness. Psalm 23 reminds me that "Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff-they comfort me." You get to know Him in a different way in the valley than you do on the mountaintop.
Micah: In my rock/metal days, I gravitated towards artists that included beautiful intricate acoustic passages so I bet there's still some influence of bands like Opeth and Conjurer in there. I also geek out about odd time signatures and mixed meter music (again a progressive rock/metal influence), so it's been a fun challenge to incorporate those elements into folk music while still trying to have them sound organic. Lately I've been delving into classic country and bluegrass like Hank Williams Sr, Ralph Stanley, Merle Haggard, etc.
Micah: Currently, my goal is to just keep producing material and improve my songwriting. I just finished up some new songs in the studio this weekend so be on the lookout for another release soon. I've done a few live acoustic performances here and there but I'm still figuring out what my personal capacity is for live performance in this season of life.
Micah: You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, etc, all @EmptySmithMusic. The best way to support this project is simply sharing the songs with your friends and family. I hope they connect with you and can be there for you when you need them. Purchasing the album on Bandcamp is a great way to directly support me as well. I'm just amazed and thankful people are taking the time to listen.
Micah: I love love love old decaying barns. Iowa is full of these magnificent relics from a bygone age. If there was a way to maintain that aesthetic, but also have it be a safe functional building, I would totally do that. Great question, this has been a fun interview!
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