Drew Smith's Lonely Choir

The best of the best in Austin:

#1 DREW SMITH'S LONELY CHOIR

"From the opening notes of staccato piano, ears perk up to this record with an inquisitive canine-quality. But we’re not listening to determine squirrel, cat, or intruder. Our senses are wrapping around pop melodies emerging from thin air, wondering how the trumpets, trombone, and banjo got in the yard. You can’t escape this album without thinking of The Beatles, Van Morrison, and The Kinks (especially the horn charts of Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)). Though Smith would beg you to expand your musical mind to include Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman, who he immortalizes—along with the very act of geeking out to great records—in “Nilsson Sings the Songs of Newman.” While Smith wrote all the songs, and delivers with a commanding presence, a nod certainly needs to be steered toward Matt Russell, who arranged all the compositions masterfully along with playing all keys (piano, organ, Rhodes, Wurlitzer). If you ever get stuck on that proverbial island, any of the ten on this list would be good to have with you, but Drew Smith’s Lonely Choir will leave you felling good as much as you are satisfied." - Dante Dominick

“He’s as capable of jaunty pop (”Follow Me Down,” “Diamonds”) as he is of Van Morrison-style balladry (”Silver Pictures”), but his neatest trick is making it seamlessly his own sound.” - Margaret Moser for the Austin Chronicle

"Drew Smith's Lonely Choir has restored my faith in Austin somehow. It's such a cool, in-the-moment pop record with some kind of intuitive Randy Newman smartness at play in every lyric and odd musical shift, with something slick and knowing and smooth going on at every turn. It's smart pop, no doubt, but with an immediately recognizable down-home vibe that strikes a free-spirit chord." - William Michael Smith for the Houston Press

--Dansby named The Lonely Choir to his Top 12 Texas Albums of 2008.

"One of my favorite albums to come out of Austin this year... Smith plays contrasts with a mad scientist's devious glee. He does a great job pitting a bouncing Bacharachlike piano against a weepy pedal steel on New Year's Day. Strings and a banjo play nice together on NYC Song. Sloppy bop-ba-da's bounce nicely against brass on Diamonds." - Andrew Dansby for the Houston Chronicle

"It’s utterly fantastic and pleasantly refreshing to hear homage to songwriters not named Dylan, Young, Springsteen, and Costello. Drew Smith and his band, the Lonely Choir, create perfect pop classics that will warm the ears of Newman and Nilsson fans – and likely the fans of indie acts like Spoon and The Shins." - Marc Perlman for AustinSound.net

"Good luck convincing Drew Smith to define his music. What he's going for isn't a label; it's a feeling. A warm, deep-down satisfaction, an album that wraps itself around you like a favorite childhood memory...Smith's music is intuitive, clean, and memorable." - Laura Normand for Austin Music & Entertainment Magazine

(In an article that went global - yahoo.com, msnbc.com, forbes.com, and hundreds more - the AP gives Drew and his band a shout)

Among them are Drew Smith, whose original new album, Drew Smith's Lonely Choir, was named the No. 1 CD last year by Austin.com, an entertainment and local news Web site. Smith has also gotten rave reviews from critics who find strains of Van Morrison, the Kinks and even The Beatles in his music. He's playing at his old haunt Momo's on Saturday night, which is about as close to top billing as a band can get at SXSW.

"In the midst of everything going on financially around the world it's pretty nice to go play shows and still have people showing up and there's few cities that could still be happening in," said Smith, an Austin transplant who hails from Colorado Springs. "It's still a pretty great town to be an artist in." - AP - Jay Root

(In an article that went global - yahoo.com, msnbc.com, forbes.com, and hundreds more - the AP gives Drew and his band a shout)

Among them are Drew Smith, whose original new album, Drew Smith's Lonely Choir, was named the No. 1 CD last year by Austin.com, an entertainment and local news Web site. Smith has also gotten rave reviews from critics who find strains of Van Morrison, the Kinks and even The Beatles in his music. He's playing at his old haunt Momo's on Saturday night, which is about as close to top billing as a band can get at SXSW.

"In the midst of everything going on financially around the world it's pretty nice to go play shows and still have people showing up and there's few cities that could still be happening in," said Smith, an Austin transplant who hails from Colorado Springs. "It's still a pretty great town to be an artist in." - AP - Jay Root

"Singer/songwriter Smith is a classicist, at least from the evidence presented on his debut album. Informed by everything from the piano-based pop of Harry Nilsson to the rustic arrangements of Van Morrison to the knotty emotional terrain of Elvis Costello, he hearkens back to a recognizable pop era without slavishly imitating it. Tunes such as “Diamonds,” “Follow Me Down,” and “New Year’s Day” evince a high degree of craftsmanship, keeping the emotional heft in check by allowing it to spill out through the seams, rather than flooding the grooves. Smith isn’t quite at the level of his inspirations, but he’s so full of talent and promise that he’s likely to catch up." - Jack Rabid - The Big Takeover

Austinite Drew Smith’s incredibly well-crafted lyrics (from “New Year’s Day”: “The drama in growing old/is you’re unsure you’ll get there”); inventive melodies proffering pop, blues and even twang (or in “NYC Song,” all three); some Sgt. Pepper’s/Kinksian/post-Vaudeville flourishes; and a roster of well-known supporting players convey this is no first-timer’s effort. But until now, Smith apparently labored in obscurity. With this album, he’s put an end to that. - Lynn Margolis for Texas Music Magazine

Austinite Drew Smith is everything that's right with CDs, both musically and aesthetically. For the visual sense, this is a gorgeous CD. Dave Schwab's intricate pen and ink drawings are whimsical, and the artistry on the liner notes is brilliant. This is a wonderfully packaged CD.

What is so amazing is that the music is just as great. Andrew Smith is a gifted songwriter who wears his influences on his sleeve. In case you wondered who they are, he opens the CD with the bouncy piano tune, "Nilsson Sings Newman," about a loserish guy who thinks his life will get a little better if he can convince his girlfriend to listen to Harry's album of Randy's songs.

Ray Davies of The Kinks and Van Morrison are also represented. On "Silver Pictures," if Smith's blued-eyed soul isn't enough to recall Morrison, the song's topics of women, barrooms and music surely do the trick.

"Instead of diamonds, I'm gonna buy you the truth," boasts Smith on "Diamonds." This CD feels the same way. Smith has no intention of blowing your mind with over the top production or jaw-droppingly shocking lyrics. Instead, he writes perfectly-crafted pop songs that will make you happy, sad, lonely and hopeful, sometimes all in one song. And if that ain't that the truth, I don't know what is.

- Al Kaufman for The Atlanta Music Guide

Austinite Drew Smith’s incredibly well-crafted lyrics (from “New Year’s Day”: “The drama in growing old/is you’re unsure you’ll get there”); inventive melodies proffering pop, blues and even twang (or in “NYC Song,” all three); some Sgt. Pepper’s/Kinksian/post-Vaudeville flourishes; and a roster of well-known supporting players convey this is no first-timer’s effort. But until now, Smith apparently labored in obscurity. With this album, he’s put an end to that. - Lynn Margolis for Texas Music Magazine