SHANNON SMITH
OUT OF THE SHADOWS
Over the last year or so, Walyalup/Fremantle based musician, Shannon Smith, has been prolific with his single releases. Now we know why.
“Things are not the same as they were in the 70s, 80s and even the 90s when people would go out and buy an album,” said Smith. “People don’t consume music that way anymore, so I had to think of a compelling reason for anyone to support me in buying the digital album, or the CD, or the vinyl [of upcoming debut long player Out Of The Shadows]. I decided to make those formats as valuable as possible by giving people something on the album they won’t get anywhere else, which is the extended tracks, and release the album in these formats early so it will be available at least six months before it’s out on streaming.”
Out Of The Shadows is a remarkable debut album
In an article on The Music, published in March this year, Smith was reported as withholding his upcoming album, Out Of The Shadows, from streaming platforms. While that might make for a nice clickable headline, it’s not really the case. As a musician, it turns out Smith makes a pretty handy strategist.
“Spotify isn’t really the end of music,” Smith said echoing the general anxiety that many musicians feel about streaming. “While it has massive traction for some musicians, for most there’s no return, you’re spending more money than you’ll make promoting your music on streaming platforms and trying to get onto playlists. So, for me, I looked at the investment I put into this album, the amount of time it’s taken to record and how much it’s cost me, and I’ve thought about the best way to get my music into the hands of my fans and to try to get a return on what I’ve put into making it.
“Spotify is made for singles, anyway, it’s not really wanting albums. You can only pitch one song at a time to a playlist editor. So, what I’ve been trying to do is get as much traction as possible out of singles, which gives me content for 12 to 18 months and dovetails into the whole social media thing, as well.”
So, not so much withholding as maximising. Sure, Smith is taking a risk by producing his album on physical formats and asking people to buy rather than stream it. He also risks disrupting what are some decent streaming numbers on Spotify by pausing his releases there for six months or so. But what Smith isn’t doing is the same thing over and over and then bleating about his lack of success. Whether this strategy will work remains to be seen, but you have to admire the artist for trying something different and making himself responsible for his own success or lack thereof. There could be something in that for other emerging musicians.
Distributing music isn’t the only industry matter Smith’s been turning his mind to recently. In a post on his Facebook page earlier this month, Smith posed the question, ‘Have you ever stopped to wonder what would happen if original Australian music just… vanished?’ The post exhorted people to make submissions to the review of the Commercial Radio Code of Practice with a view to pushing for more new local content to be played on Australian commercial radio stations rather than the same old legacy artists and songs, great though they are. Smith wasn’t alone in promoting this opportunity, even the likes of Cold Chisel (dare I call them a legacy act) are on board with the idea of playing more new Australian music on Australian radio stations.
If you’re moved to make a submission to the review, you can do so here, you have until 18 May to do so.
What have we learned about Shannon Smith so far? He’s an emerging artist, he’s a thinker and a strategist and he cares enough about his career and the industry he works in to take the time to try different approaches and galvanise his peers and the general public to get involved in creating positive change.
Having spoken to Smith recently, I can report that he started writing songs and playing music in his mid-teens; he’s had some regrets and along the way learned that drugs and alcohol only make things worse; he’s constantly striving to be a better man and a better artist; and… Lovely grist, but not the main staple. Where does that leave us? It leaves us with the music, of course, exactly where we should be.
Smith’s debut album, Out Of The Shadows, is due to be launched on 2 May. Talking to Smith about the release, I let slip that I have him in the same territory as Paul McCartney, in that he can write and play any style of music and make it sound good. It’s a big call and one that Smith was happy to go along with. It came to mind a while ago when I was struggling to pigeonhole Smith’s music into a particular genre and gave up trying. Smith makes pop music that sometimes leans into his country sensibilities, but he’ll give almost anything a go and it’ll usually end up sounding great.
So it is with the 10 songs on Out Of The Shadows. Opening with the splendid silliness of ‘Dance The Night Away (Do Do Do Do)’ which I dubbed a slice of ‘feel good whimsy’ when it was first released as a single, we’re off to a cracking start.
‘Till I’m Home’ starts out with a slowed-down Stonesy groove and then slips into ballad territory with some gorgeous chord changes in the pre-chorus that raise it above both borrowed and banal. If it were Macca doing this song critics might say it wasn’t his most innovative piece, but who needs to innovate when ears are listening, toes are tapping and hearts are feeling nurtured?
I have to say, a few singles into Smith’s single release cycle I started having maybe too much fun with the musical stoush going on between him and musical and life partner, Helen Townsend. It didn’t hurt, though, as each article came out and I vilified Smith more and more outrageously for his bad boy ways — tongue planted firmly in cheek — the traffic on his socials was full of people leaping to his defence, pushing up his numbers and helping him break the algorithm. Proof that (almost) all publicity is good publicity.
So it was with ‘I’m Gonna Change, the next track on Out Of The Shadows, which I reviewed when it was released as a single in December 2023. The review is here and I stand by the line about the song being a ‘surefooted shift in focus’. This one’s a real heartbreaker and, if you buy a physical copy of the album or download it from Bandcamp, you’ll get an extended version (plug, plug).
I’ve also reviewed ‘Valentine’s Day’ previously (Feb 2024, see above for comment on all publicity, etc.), where I noted the, ‘slow-burn splendour of the song and its arrangement, Smith’s voice carrying the perfect amount of gravitas and anguish and the McCrary Sisters bringing it home with their vocal accents that just about steal the show.’ Yes, the actual, real McCrary Sisters! And don’t they sound grand, although they didn’t upstage Smith or his song for a single moment.
Next up on Out Of The Shadows is ‘Break Free’, the most recent single released by Smith and the absolute centrepiece of this record. I first listened to ‘Break Free’ a few months ago when it was still a demo and I was struck then by how incredibly hooky and loveable this song is, with Smith digging into his country roots and playing the balladeer like he’s got a hundred number one hits under his belt. Listening to it as an album track, I still love this song as much as I did the first time I listened. If anything’s going to help Smith break out, it’s this song. It’s got solid-gold-all-time classic written into its DNA.
I reviewed ‘Started Off With Lies’ in November last year and called it Smith’s ‘great leap forward.’ This was before I’d heard ‘Break Free’ but what the hell, I stand by my assessment. Besides, it’s a pop banga, so Smith will be topping an entirely different chart with this one.
‘Feel Good’ is a soul groover that sounds so familiar you’d swear Smith had plagiarised it from somewhere. They say familiarity breeds contempt, but not in the music industry. Reaching an audience has a lot to do with reaching ears that have been trained to love particular things and then giving them something new wrapped up in the known. ‘Feel Good’ makes you, well, you know, and no harm done. Music is the safest and most nourishing addiction there is and, with the capacity to write songs like this, Smith could quickly become among the world’s most trafficked.
‘I Do’ is the sort of song that comes in around track 8 on a lot of albums. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, but my question is does it add anything? Most listeners will likely love it, but if Macca had written this song critics might raise an eyebrow, just slightly.
I reviewed ‘Every Single Day’ in July last year, going so far as to say, the song stands well alongside ‘output from the likes of Paul McCartney (again) and Harry Nilsson’. I even included a Venn diagram at the end of the review. I don’t think Smith liked it much because he didn’t share it on his socials (yes, I do notice these things 😀), but I still think the song is a cracker.
Closing track on Out Of The Shadows is ‘Light On A Hill’. Smith recently posted about it on his socials, describing how he wrote the song for his Uncle Rob who died of cancer in 2023. Smith has talked a lot about how a good portion of his recent releases have been about his relationship with partner, Helen Townsend, and how he did her and himself wrong at one stage. There’s heartbreak and redemption in those songs, but nothing that plumbs the depths and reaches the emotional highs of ‘Light On A Hill’. This is a magnificently sad song that cements Smith’s place as a songwriter who can take his own feelings and experiences and make them universal. It’s breathtaking and, if you can listen to it without crying… You won’t be able to.
Out Of The Shadows is a remarkable debut album from an artist in Shannon Smith who I feel has grown in stature as a songwriter and performer right before our eyes and ears over the past year or so. Listening to it on high repeat, the songs never fail to deliver and it’s no surprise at all that Smith has thought long and hard about how best to bring these songs to an audience. They deserve the title, ‘album’, to just release them as singles feels too throwaway.
These songs need to be listened to in company with each other rather than on a playlist where the aim is to make everything sound samey and you’re never sure what or who you’re listening to. If they suffered that fate, listeners would have a much-reduced opportunity to fall in love with the likes of ‘Break Free’, ‘Light On A Hill’ and their siblings.
Go buy Out Of The Shadows immediately it becomes available. You can pre-order it now on Bandcamp, so go do that too. This is one bandwagon you need to be on.
Shannon Smith launches Out Of The Shadows on 2 May at Lyric’s Underground with special guests Hope River Band. You can get tickets here.
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