Drew Smith

Projects that take a very long time to achieve rarely arrive so strong, and the debut album Fossils from Drew Smith is a brilliant exception to that rule.
10 tracks of pure emotional reception and creativity, the swooning vocals and deep blue melodies command a loud response that quickly identifies Drew Smith with the likes of Travis and Radiohead. Smith agrees and welcomes the comparison but says honestly "You lose the British perspective after a few listens and the music comes into its own". Smith, a fan of the British sound, is also stirred by a broad gamut of musical influences - from The Smashing Pumpkins to Serge Gainsbourg, Blonde Redhead to Fiona Apple - and tried to remain creative and original while writing Fossils.
Originality means experimentation - and writing Fossils with producer/engineer Andy Magoffin (The Constantines, Jim Guthrie, The Two-Minute Miracles) at his House of Miracles Studio was a full-scale experimental process that took the better part of a year. Drew Smith recalls the laborious process with affection and warmth "The album is really a living snapshot of all things that were around me at the time." Time in the studio was spent trying out a medley of sound possibilities. Smith poured more than just heart and melody into his album - from banjos and old guitar amps to actually mounting the innards of a piano against the wall and beating what soul they could out of it - Smith consented to explore the sounds around him and apply everything that sparked his attention. Says Smith, "We even mic'd Andy blowing bubbles into the sink". Truly pushing his musical horizon Smith says of his favourite track Respiration "It's such a wonderful sense to have a song become something even you didn't know it was".
Enamoured by the idea that songs never stay the same (nor should they), Smith exudes the same enthusiasm on the subject of evolution as a paleontologist would. "Creating an album is only the first step, it's what you do with it after and how you choose to present it which will attach meaning and merit to it."
With "Fossils," Smith has set his 10 songs in stone and has given the listener a chance to hear what his fossil record has to uncover.