West Chester songwriter Ben Smith has been writing and performing songs in area bands over the past decade. His first solo album, recorded at Milkboy Studios, has Smith revisiting some of the same literary ground and baroque arrangements admirers have always liked about his work with Wise and Foolish Builders and the more recent Missing Palmer West. This time around Smith is mixing piano and guitar with strings and horns, accordions and choirs. The result sounds both traditional—at home in some front parlor or back barroom—and sophisticated, something overheard echoing down a chamber hall. The new record catalogs a wide index of topics: gangsters and love potions, stones and bayonets, runaways and rumors, and even each of the seven wonders of the world. WXPN’s Bruce Warren is a fan, calling Smith’s music “all good things warm and welcoming.”
XPN has also been kind enough to feature Ben in an episode of their monthly Studio Sessions featured on their local site, The Key. For the holiday season, Ben’s song “I Got a New Tatto for Christmas” is part of the station’s 12 Days of Christmas celebration which features local bands and their original holiday music.
The record release show for Crooked Earth is coming up January 20th at Milkboy in Ardmore.
Ben is planning to announce a new endeavor for 2012: a song-for-hire, customized songwriting offer for anyone who has an idea for a song—one about their life, as a gift for a friend, or any old occasion. Stay tuned for details about this in the new year.
