Chris Smith
Second Hand Smoke
It Records
Second Hand Smoke isn’t exactly a new release. It found it’s way out of the rural outback about a year ago. I was sent a review copy of the CD, which promptly fell behind the dresser, thus going into a long occultation. Somehow, that feels appropriate for the lost and lonely sounds found on the record. It took Australian guitarist, Smith 8 years of messing around with sounds on his home 8-track recorder to come up with the basic tracks, which he assembled into proper songs with producer. Jack Lee.
“The Journalist” opens the record with a collage of strummed acoustic guitar, a news report about Richie Sambora and Chris singing like a wasted hobo down low in the mix. The record has a vast cinematic quality while at the same time being quite stark. “5AM Again”. Is a captivating instrumental that captures the Ry Cooder meets Giant Sand vibe perfectly. “Dumpster in the Sky” is another broken soul number that sounds like it should be on the Paris, Texas soundtrack. The album closes with a ghostly rendition of the Velvet Underground tune, “Sweet Nuthin,” which ends abruptly when the tape gets turned off. Somehow, that’s a fitting way to end Second Hand Smoke.
