Released October 4th (Courtesy of The Valory Music Co.)
To say that 2024 has been a hell of a year for Conner Smith would be an understatement; back in January he released his debut full-length album, ‘Smoky Mountains,’ then in March he travelled ‘across the pond’ as part of the ‘Introducing Nashville’ lineup for Country 2 Country Festival, playing to crowds not just in London, Belfast and Glasgow, but also Berlin, Oslo and Stockholm. Also in March, Smith was named as the very first artist to hit the #1 spot on the inaugural Official UK Country Radio Chart for his hit song, ‘Creek Will Rise,’ which garnered an impressive 821, 385 impressions to hit that top spot. Then over the summer, his ‘Steal My Thunder’ duet with Tucker Wetmore turned out to be the surprise hit of the country hit jam-packed Twisters Soundtrack. ‘Steal My Thunder’ wasn’t just featured on the soundtrack, but placed prominently within the movie itself, so it’s safe to say that the Tennessee native has been well and truly introduced, and now he's back with his latest EP.
‘The Storyteller’ arrives on October 4th. The five-song collection sees Smith digging deep down into his songwriting roots; effortlessly fusing his soulful, honeyed vocal with a mostly acoustic instrumentation with touches of folk, bluegrass and some 90’s country thrown into the mix, all of which blend together to produce a modern, relevant collection of songs that are as substantive, thought-provoking and real as they are catchy as hell.
Speaking of the already-released title-track, Smith said: “I had the title of ‘The Storyteller’ in my phone for a long time and didn’t really know what that meant yet in terms of a song, I just knew that the heart of my music is the stories,” explains Smith. “It got me thinking that we’re all storytellers, every person is in their own story inside of the bigger story.” The song was co-written by Dwight Baker and Flatland Cavalry’s Cleto Cordero and celebrates all of those who leave their mark - their story - on the world, in whatever form that may take; whether it’s a cowboy on a Texas plane, Shakespeare writing plays, Van Goh painting masterpieces or his Granddad working on the lines.
It's a damn fine way to open up a brand-new collection of music.
For me personally, track two, ‘Nostalgia’ is the highlight of a very strong EP of songs. The folky-sounding, percussion-based track tells the story of a love that fell apart under the weight of distance. “You dreamed of California, and I called my dreams in Tennessee. How strong’s love gotta be to survive the miles in between? I guess we were naïve; it don’t make it a bad thing.”
The bittersweet song ends on a wistful note: “I thought it was forever when I had ya. I hope you know that I still think about ya, but now you’re just nostalgia.” Smith’s earnest, soulful vocal really soars on this one.
‘The Storyteller’ truly feels like a lyrical collection of short stories; they’re not just really good songs, they leave the listener feeling as though they’ve spent time with the characters depicted within them, whether it be the farmer who ‘knows you gotta work hard, but pray even harder,’ on track three’s, ‘Faith From A Farmer’ or the two best friends ‘rollin’ down the road, livin’ out a dream, outlaw livin,’ country song pickin’ on the upbeat, hand-clapping, foot-tapping, ‘Rollin’ Down the Road’ which also features the collection’s only duet (with Cleto Cordero). The duet is reminiscent of the same kind of fun vibe and energy as Smith’s ‘Steal My Thunder’ collaboration from ‘Twisters: The Album.’
The Storyteller closes out with ‘The Garden,’ wherein the narrator tells of his desire to ‘step off the treadmill’ of living moment to moment and get back to spending time with his love ‘because life is just too short to spend it chasin’ after wind, ain’t no use in climbing mountains just to come back down again.’ The narrator implores his love to meet him in a metaphorical garden, ‘where tender memories sweeten just like berries on the vine’ and they can spend time reconnecting away from the hustle and bustle of daily life.
Overall, ‘The Storyteller’ is the kind of EP that would connect well with audiences in a small, intimate writer’s round setting like The Bluebird, as well as captivating the attention of a larger, festival crowd and have both hanging on every note. THE STORYTELLER TRACK LIST 1. “The Storyteller” | Written by:Conner Smith, Dwight Baker, Cleto Cordero 2. “Nostalgia” | Written by:Conner Smith, Dwight Baker 3. “Faith from A Farmer” | Written by:Conner Smith 4. “Rollin’ Down the Road (featuring Cleto Cordero)” | Written by:Conner Smith, Dwight Baker, Cleto Cordero 5. “The Garden” | Written by:Conner Smith, Dwight Baker, Cleto Cordero