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If music was just down to hard work Jason Smith would have been at the top years ago. Since moving to London in 2012, the 18 year old singer- songwriter, born in Devon but raised in Essex, this artist has been gear with a perfectionist’s personality. Throughout 2014 he played 376 shows, globally. He survived by selling CD’s on street corners near, from his backpack and hoodies from his website. Over the course of the three years, his self- motivated efforts are the reason his five EP’s were release. The final EP, Heaven Is For Real, got to number 3 on the ITunes charts and stayed there for 4 weeks. Along the way people started talking about this new artist, the public were amazed by his lyrics and innovative style. He was different, and that’s what everyone liked. For a while all we knew about Jason was his music, as that’s what he was all about. But sure enough his fans started demanding more. Shortly after he social networked his was to several million views on YouTube. This was a young man that definitely beets the NEET stereotype.
However, hard work doesn’t count for much in today’s society. Jason was accompanied by a spark of talent and these symbol-title debut shows so he found it hard to get recognised by the right people. Smith has the flair to match his traditional work ethics. It’s a smart ruling of the singer song- writer, it’s all down the acoustics, a hint of hop-hop with pops swagger, exploring the empty spaces between Newton Faulkner, Hozier and Plan B. Edgier than the first two, yet considerably more alive than the later one.
It’s a well-worked crossed hybrid, but what really sets Smith apart is his skill at painting picture, no, powerful images with his choice of words. That One Thing, a Top 5 in the charts throughout the summer months, is about a homeless teenager that holds onto the thought of love through the toughest times. Who Would You Have Been? Is about the excitement of approaching fatherhood, but the story ends with a gut wrenching twist The song is so direct, the first time you hear it you catch your breath. His songs bring so much emotion to the listeners, as if they had experienced this situation themselves; the feeling as fresh and raw each time the song is played. Daylight, meanwhile, is a feisty dig at his former manager, who told him he’d have to completely change who he was if he wanted to be a success. Over a punchy breakfast and a chugging acoustic guitar loop he put together, he stretches “I’m true, my songs are where my heart is, I’m not you, that would be disastrous… I’m real, I do it all, it’ all me”. Somebody see Smith operating in a more traditional singer song-writer style, stripped back and so natural. The guitar speaks as many words as the lyrics, despite being less rhythmic and more melodic, the song is filled out with violins and the song builds to a final climax of sharp instrumental peaks. The use of cleaver multi- layered backing really gives this song the pop feel his audience really adores. Whilst the artist him-self howls blissfully like a man possessed. It’s a richer more dynamic track than anything seen in the pop industry, a risk release that proved a massive hit in loads countries. So many artists limit themselves to that same audience, whereas Smith caters for every possibly desire.
If there’s a flaw, it’s an unintentional masterpiece. No matter how he goes about music, it could never be wrong; or sure he is a miracle worker. “Maybe you were made for me/ maybe you were made for someone else” he sings on Loving You the most complimenting of chord sequences, as sickly as a giant teddy-bear Valentine’s Day card; but still being able to pull it off as if nothing even crossed his mind. Put it down to youthful nativity, this album really is so accomplished it’s easy to forget that Jason Smith is only just cut from the streets.
In any case, such slushy moments are infrequent and don’t detract significantly from what is an impressive debut, 1997 is remarkably full formed and, for the most part, executed with such maturity and immense skill. For him all the hard graft and misfortune, it seems, has paid off in full.