Meaghan Smith’s first official full-length album, Take Me Dancing, is on its way out the door and straight into your CD player. Complete with string quartets, mellotron samples, a full piece horn section, a guest appearance made by the fabulously musical DJ Kid Koala, and topped with Meaghan’s smooth, soaring vocals, this new album is sure to make you want to cut some serious rug or grab your sweet heart for a good old cheek to cheek.
To make this album, I had to let myself relax. After speaking to my friend Scott Trivers about this horrible writer’s block I had for about a year, he gave me the best advice I’ve received. He told me to go home and write the worst songs I possibly could. So I did! I got over my fears of writing bad songs and instantly the dam was broken so to speak. These new songs are what flowed out of me in the following weeks.
And what a flood it is! She has taken her folksy-pop sound that was prevalent on her previous EP, Lost With Directions, and warped it into something completely fresh and innovative. For those of you who were fans before, you’d better be prepared for her new sound that combines the instrumentation of old jazz (complete with horns, strings and a big-band-swing-groove) with a twist of modern pop sensibilities. Her new songs are chalk full of vocal stylings comparable to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Her smooth voice soars over a bed of lush instrumentation, beautifully crafted to support the storytelling style of her lyrics. The creator of that supporting music is Les Cooper, a new name to the world of production.
But there’s more to Meaghan Smith’s new songs than meets the ear. Upon closer inspection, the listener will hear some unexpected sonic treats, and they are nothing that would have been found int he nineteen-thirties jazz that her songs are so evocative of. Who would have thought that a world-renowned Canadian DJ named Kid Koala would have taken an interest in her songs, so much so that he agreed to add some dazzling turn table manipulations to two songs? Not even Meaghan herself, who admits that she has been a devoted fan of his for years. His willingness to participate in Smith’s songs results in a sound reminiscent of the good-old-time-jazz injected with a modern shot of turntable manipulation.
At one point Meaghan Smith may have been lost with directions. But if she continues down the road she’s currently on, she stands a good chance of knowing exactly where she’s going. Straight up.
24 Jul 2008 20:00 First Canadian Place Toronto, Ontario
25 Jul 2008 20:00 Hillside Music Festival Guelph, Ontario
26 Jul 2008 20:00 Hillside Festival Toronto, Ontario
24 Oct 2008 20:00 Sackville United Church Sackville, New Brunswick
22 Nov 2008 20:00 Capitol Theatre Moncton, New Brunswick
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