by Kaila Divak
When I was first researching Olivia Management, before I applied to intern here, I looked through all of their artists’ catalogs. I was really into everything that they put out, but I was particularly drawn towards one duo, and that was Smooth Hound Smith. I was obsessed with their harmonies, a mix of country and blues. Honestly, it was hard for me to even make that comparison because I think that they have so many different genres of music stitched into their three albums that it’s almost impossible to pin them within one.
But my all-time favorite song by them came out after I had discovered them. I would have to say that their newest single, “Little Rock N Roll Clubs”, is by far my favorite song that they’ve ever released. I had the privilege of listening to it to create social media content prior to the release, and I found myself walking around my house, doing something mundane like cooking or cleaning, and singing the song. I wanted to play it on Spotify so badly that I even looked it up a few times, remembering mid-search that the single wasn’t out until August 28th. “Little Rock N Roll Clubs” is a tribute to independent music venues across the world that have been getting hit hard due to concerts and other events being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This song was written with Save Our Stages, the National Independent Venue Association, and the National Independent Talent Organization in mind. So not only is it an amazing song, it also has some purpose behind it, which makes you feel good.
My second favorite song by Smooth Hound Smith is for sure “Steal Your Crown” off of their 2013 record, Smooth Hound Smith. This song has such a real rockabilly feel, like they were playing homage to The Black Keys and Thickfreakness. Every last detail down to the harmonica, tambourine, fuzzy guitar, and the steady drumbeat compliment Zack’s growly vocals and Caitlin’s harmonies perfectly. This song makes you want to get up and sing a karaoke song at a dive bar. I love to play this one while driving on the highway, with all of my windows down. And I’m sure you’d feel the same way.
My third and final favorite song would definitely be “Stopgap Woman Blues” off of their sophomore album, Sweet Tennessee Honey. For some reason, whenever I listen to this song, I think of “Black Country Woman” by Led Zeppelin. I don’t know if it’s the way the drums enter later on in the song, or the gritty guitar melody, but it gets me every time. The music video for this song also makes me laugh, but it’s true.
And I’ve missed so many amazing songs that Smooth Hound Smith has recorded, because if I listed all of the songs that I loved by them, this post be way too long long. They really do blend so many genres together to make an extremely unique genre of their own.