Zac Smith: OurStage Artist Of The Week

posted in: Artist Features • Pop

As pop music is regarded more and more seriously by music critics and aficionados, its leading artists seem to be incorporating a wider palette of influences in their productions. Or perhaps the sonic expansion came first. But it’s more likely a self-sustaining cycle, the artistry eliciting a positive response, which in turn inspires more experimentation. In any case, it’s a plus for pop music, once (and still often) a one-dimensional, disposable wasteland, but now a breeding ground for ear candy with both style and depth.

So let’s get down today with one of those artists pushing the possibilities of what pop can be: Zac Smith, our Artist of the Week. Smith, a Berklee College of Music grad, has just released a trio of new songs that display an impressive array of rock, electronic, and acoustic elements, all packaged with the earmarks of infectious, radio-ready pop.

It’s Love sports a propulsive groove that resolves in a cymbal-washed chorus, before breaking down and re-building, while I’m Not Dreaming incorporates rock-EDM hybrid drum patterns and sounds. Smith takes a turn toward simplified uke-acoustic melodicism on Run, Run, Run, with sweet harmonies and roomy percussion.

Smith has a perfect voice for this kind of music “ airy and unintrusive. It often feels like another piece of the instrumentation, rather than the reason for the songs to exist. That is, the music is clearly not just a showcase for the vocal. Each part of the tracks work together to create a unified vibe, meant to be taken in as a whole. These three tracks appear to be among Smith’s first professional efforts. We’ll be interested to see where he goes next. Listen to “It’s Love” below.