Hailing from the sunny landscapes of South Florida, Smelter brings an alchemical blend of heavy alt-rock and the dreamy reverberations of shoegaze to the modern rock scene. Their latest creation, an EP titled “New Skin,” is set to grace our ears on the 23rd of this month via Tiger Records.
With members from prominent bands such as Gouge Away, Domain, and Ephemeral, and the entire project being finessed by the expert touch of Jon Nuñez from Torche, expectations are, rightfully, sky-high.
To grasp the very essence and stories behind each note and lyric, Smelter sat down with us to provide a comprehensive, track-by-track breakdown of “New Skin.” From early iterations and inspirations to personal anecdotes and the emotions that birthed each song, this commentary offers a holistic understanding of the journey behind the EP.
“We’ve been working on these four songs for almost a year, if not longer. We’ve had a lot of things go wrong but finally got to the finish line. I’ll speak for all of us and say we’re very excited for everyone to hear the songs and get to work on the next release.” – comments the band.
Blue To You:
This is a track that I initially wrote around 2015. It was a challenge to myself to write something from start to finish. There’s an earlier version I recorded with a prior band. It didn’t really fit with the sound of that project. Could consider it the earliest version of Smleter!
Prinny:
After playing a few shows we realized that we needed a more aggressive song for the set. Something that really catches your attention and covers all the bases of the band. I wrote this when I was in a less than ideal living situation and was feeling a bit trapped.
New Skin:
Here’s another song I had written prior. It was initially much faster. I was going for a punk rock Byrds vibe but it ended up working great for Smelter. I was trying to get those classic style harmonies that they do so well. The song itself is about reinvention. New skin, new you. That sort of thing.
Tired Realm:
I’m particularly nervous about this one. I had brought this to the band when we started so it’s been floating around awhile. It leaves me very bare in the beginning, but I think it’s to great effect in the song. Just a guy singing at you with guitar is so overrated, so I hope it works.
