Vinyl LP, Vinyl
In the three years since Captured Tracks issued its first retrospective compilation of Linda Smith’s recorded work, the Baltimore singer-songwriter’s discography has received new critical appraisal for its forward-thinking approach to self-production. After purchasing a four-track tape recorder to make demos for her band The Woods, Smith quickly fell in love with the process of constructing songs at home from the ground up, leading her to start releasing homespun solo cassettes via her own label, Preference.
Smith became a prolific figure in the home-taping scene during the ‘80s and ‘90s thanks to frequent inclusions in the K Records mail order catalog and magazines like Option. Sharing a DIY ethic with peers who released on labels like Slumberland and Shrimper, she stood out for her unique blend of influences, fusing ‘60s psychedelia with tinny electronics, delicate folk, and surreal hints of musique concrète. This year, Captured Tracks is diving deeper into the more experimental side of Smith’s songcraft with two simultaneous reissues, both originally released in 1996.
Percussion plays a major role on Nothing Else Matters. Each half of the album opens with the rumble of unaccompanied tom toms which, in both instances, leads into quirky reinterpretations of Byrdsian jangle pop, full of retro organ chords and droning guitar riffs. Elsewhere, the percussion set a futuristic, surreal tone: “Bright Side” features a punchy, hip-hop adjacent drum machine loop that glues microtonal synths and acoustic guitar together, while the booming low-end on “For Here Or To Go” helps push guest performer Nancy Andrews’s dissonant violin solos into a manic fervor. Between Smith’s abstract collages, you’ll find moments of delicate bedroom pop bliss like “In the Hospital,” a string-infused song that recalls both The Velvet Underground and The Magnetic Fields.
I So Liked Spring’s sound is noticeably more conventional than Nothing Else Matters, but the album is no less experimental—this time on the lyrical front. Inspired by a biography of English poet Charlotte Mew, Smith adapted Mew’s verses to song, leaving the original text largely unchanged. The adapted work was written during the early 20th century, yet its imagery suits the aesthetic of ‘90s twee pop surprisingly well with its mentions of “picture-book thieves,” “tea with the birds,” and beautiful spring days. I So Liked Spring’s title track is Smith’s most well-known song for a reason: backed by mid-tempo drum machine, her reverb-laden vocals melt into a wistful chord progression as little blips of keyboard fill empty space. It’s simple, but impeccably arranged.
