Tag: The Fray

John Smith’s new video for ‘Hold On’

Escape with John Smith into the ethereal Welsh countryside in his new video for Hold On from his new album The Fray Photo: google

John Smith was born in Essex and raised on the Devon seaside. Known for his intimate songwriting, his honey-on-gravel voice, and pioneering guitar playing, he has spent the last fifteen years touring internationally and has amassed over 40 million streams on Spotify. As a session musician, he has played guitar with artists as diverse as Joan Baez, David Gray, Joe Henry, Lianne La Havas, and Tom Jones. His new album The Fray is out now as is the video for Hold On from this new album. (IV-PR, 2021)

Throughout The Fray, Smith touches on not just his own emotional turmoil experienced over the past year, but also his observance of the pain of those around him. But it is Smith’s stubborn optimism that shines through and differentiates his experiences and songs from his influences and contemporaries, which PopMatters and Americana Highways recently touched on, the latter highlighting his “excellent, consistent songwriting.” His traits of holding onto hope, forgiving transgressions, and reckoning with his place in a world which does not always reciprocate are not only necessary for Smith to deal, but they are also contagious to anyone who finds themselves in similar situations, adrift in the wind. For those who echo that sentiment, from experience, Smith shares his message on The Fray; “If we don’t hold on, we’re lost.”

Fans can follow this link to see the full video for “Hold On,” a song which Under The Radar called “an unrelentingly warm and uplifting ballad, one that was as healing for Smith to write as it is to take in as a listener” from a record that The Bluegrass Situation applauded as “an album of searing honesty and lithe beauty whose songs amplify the emotions and experiences of so many of us this year—the reassessed relationships, the self-reflection, and the ultimate search for hope.”

A drove of critics went on to also praise the instrumentation and production of The Fray. No Depression called Smith’s work “a meticulously constructed album that expresses its sadness but doesn’t get bogged down in it”; Fretboard Journal exclaimed “beautiful, introspective and loaded with great guitar tones”; and Associated Press wrote “There’s a comforting sway to the album’s melodic folk-pop, built on Smith’s subtle guitar work…12 tunes of resilience, devotion and hope, with determination in the lyrics and buoyancy in the music.” Fans can follow this link to purchase or stream The Fray in its entirety now.

The Fray Track list:
1. Friends
2. Hold On
3. Sanctuary
4. Deserving
5. The Best Of Me (feat. Bill Frisell)
6. Star-Crossed Lovers (feat Lisa Hannigan)
7. To The Shore
8. Eye To Eye (feat Sarah Jarosz)
9. Just As You Are
10. The Fray (feat. The Milk Carton Kids)
11. She’s Doing Fine
12. One Day At A Time

John Smith ‘Hold On’

New album: John Smith’s The Fray

The Fray is John Smith’s new album. Photo: google

British songwriter John Smith was born in Essex and raised on the Devon seaside. Known for his intimate songwriting, his honey-on-gravel voice, and pioneering guitar playing, he has spent the last fifteen years touring internationally and has amassed over 40 million streams on Spotify. As a session musician, he has played guitar with artists as diverse as Joan Baez, David Gray, Joe Henry, Lianne La Havas, and Tom Jones.  He holds on to optimism with his new album The Fray. (IV-PR, 2021)

The song ‘Hold On’ embodies a thread of hopefulness in a blanket of bad news; a thread that runs throughout his new full-length album, The Fray—available now to stream or purchase at this link. Smith co-produced The Fray with long-time friend and producer Sam Lakeman at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studio. Calling on an all-star band—pianist Jason Rebello, bass player Ben Nicholls, Drummer Jay Sikora, and Jessica Staveley-Taylor of The Staves—Lakeman and Smith honed an honest sound not unfamiliar to existing fans; a focus on the songs as well as the beautiful way in which Smith picks and plucks them. Not allowing a global pandemic to prohibit collaboration, Smith’s guests on the album recorded remotely and sent their contributions digitally over international borders—Sarah Jarosz, Courtney Hartman, The Milk Carton Kids, and Bill Frisell from the Americas and Smith’s frequent touring partner Lisa Hannigan via a virtual studio session in Dublin. 

Throughout The Fray, Smith touches on not just his own emotional turmoil experienced over the past year, but also his observance of the pain of those around him. But it is Smith’s stubborn optimism that shines through and differentiates his experiences and songs from his influences and contemporaries, which PopMatters and Americana Highways recently touched on, the latter highlighting his “excellent, consistent songwriting.” His traits of holding onto hope, forgiving transgressions, and reckoning with his place in a world which does not always reciprocate are not only necessary for Smith to deal, but they are also contagious to anyone who finds themselves in similar situations, adrift in the wind. Atwood Magazine commented, “Pain, loss, isolation, sadness—these are all a part of life, and they will knock us down. Smith’s music reminds us that we will rise again, stronger than before.” For those who echo that sentiment, from experience, Smith shares his message on The Fray; “If we don’t hold on, we’re lost.”

On April 11, Smith will be hosting a Behind the Music livestream in which he will discuss what it takes to put an album together; from writing and arranging to production and recording. For more information and to purchase a pass, please visit Mandolin online. 

The Fray Track listing: 

  1. Friends
  2. Hold On
  3. Sanctuary
  4. Deserving
  5. The Best Of Me (feat. Bill Frisell)
  6. Star-Crossed Lovers (feat Lisa Hannigan)
  7. To The Shore
  8. Eye To Eye (feat Sarah Jarosz)
  9. Just As You Are
  10. The Fray (feat. The Milk Carton Kids)
  11. She’s Doing Fine
  12. One Day At A Time

Upcoming new album: The Fray by John Smith

John Smith’s The Fray will be out Friday, March 26, 2021. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

British folksinger John Smith was born in Essex and raised on the Devon seaside. Known for his intimate songwriting, his honey-on-gravel voice, and pioneering guitar playing, he has spent the last fifteen years touring internationally and has amassed over 40 million streams on Spotify. As a session musician, he has played guitar with artists as diverse as Joan Baez, David Gray, Joe Henry, Lianne La Havas, and Tom Jones. (IVPR, 2021)

The first song released from his new album is “Eye to Eye.” It embodies a thread of hopefulness in a blanket of bad news; a thread that runs throughout his new full-length album, The Fray. Out March 26, The Fray finds Smith writing his sixth album, grounded from his usually busy touring schedule, and reeling from a cascade of even worse news in his personal life; wading through it all with a defiant positivity. Last month, Fretboard Journal premiered “Eye to Eye,” describing it as, “A gorgeous new album…beautiful, introspective and loaded with great guitar tones.” A pulsing plea for understanding which was co-written with Americana mainstay Sarah Siskind and features Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Sarah Jarosz, “Eye to Eye” is a shining example of Smith’s ability to deliver a tough conversation wrapped in uplifting verse and melody. Fans can listen to “Eye to Eye” right now at this link and pre-order or pre-save The Fray ahead of its March 26.

Throughout The Fray, Smith touches on not just his own emotional turmoil experienced over the past year, but also his observance of the pain of those around him. But it is Smith’s stubborn optimism that shines through and differentiates his experiences and songs from his influences and contemporaries. His traits of holding onto hope, forgiving transgressions, and reckoning with his place in a world which does not always reciprocate are not only necessary for Smith to deal, but they are also contagious to anyone who finds themselves in similar situations, adrift in the wind. For those who echo that sentiment, from experience, Smith shares his message on The Fray; “If we don’t hold on, we’re lost.”

“It’s been a hell of a year, but I feel I’ve created my most honest work as a result—and as a necessity. A lot of these songs are about accepting that life is hard, but just holding on and trying to enjoy it anyway.”- John Smith

The Fray Track listing:
1. Friends
2. Hold On
3. Sanctuary
4. Deserving
5. The Best Of Me (feat. Bill Frisell)
6. Star-Crossed Lovers (feat Lisa Hannigan)
7. To The Shore
8. Eye To Eye (feat Sarah Jarosz)
9. Just As You Are
10. The Fray (feat. The Milk Carton Kids)
11. She’s Doing Fine
12. One Day At A Time