Last year, Monument Records’ powerhouse vocalist Caitlyn Smith released ‘High’, the first half of a record that the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter self-produced. Now, Smith announces the completion of that project, adding six new songs to make her full record ‘High & Low’ which will be released on April 14.
We were lucky enough to see Caitlyn twice in the UK last year. Once at the C2C festival and then again on her own tour later on in the year.
For Smith, the making of the album represented a metamorphosis. Looking back, the award-winning songwriter realised she, as many do in the era of social media, had celebrated the “highs” of life publicly – while navigating the “lows” in private. Instead of showing vulnerability, it was easier to pretend everything was fine. Over the course of writing and producing ‘High & Low’ Smith learned to peel back the curtain, embracing all aspects of her life, including the “lows” she once held so close to the vest.
“Nobody can have the highs without the lows,” she reflects. “When I decided to produce this album, I knew it was going to be a challenge – and musically it was a beautifully stretching & exciting experience. But it brought me into this unexpected season of life where I started facing all these roadblocks that were holding me back. Fear. Doubt. Denial. And I was really forced to finally bring these issues into the light. I went from hiding behind my songs to being able to say it out loud in the room – and that’s something I’m really proud of.
Out now, ‘Lately‘ is the first taste of what’s to come. The track delves even further into this human experience, detailing the attempt to overcome loss using a series of distractions.
“I’d realised that I’d grown into this version of myself that only wanted to show and talk about the highs and became quite dependent on keeping up this façade that I have it all together,” she details. “Real life is gritty, and wild, and never perfect, and it’s given me so much freedom to be able to be more vulnerable, not always put on a happy face, and be honest and unafraid of the more difficult feelings.”
Pre-save ‘High & Low’ here.
Track listing:
1 High – Intro
2 High
3 Dreamin’s Free
4 Lately
5 Mississippi
6 Good As Us
7 Alaska
8 Maybe In Another Life
9 I Think Of You
10 Nothing Against You
11 Downtown Baby
12 Writing Songs and Raising Babies
13 I Don’t Like The World Without You
14 The Great Pretender
