Los Angeles musician Nate Smith doesn’t have all the answers when it comes to love – for that matter, he’s not even had enough time to ask all the relevant questions. But his experiences, the good and the bad, inform every note and syllable of his music, resulting in a dynamic wallop of insight and raw nerve associations. Steeped in the lineages of countless singer-songwriters, Smith breaks down the walls between artist and audience, offering intimate conversations and soliloquies aimed at peeling back the weathered exterior of his heart.
For his latest album, Blue, he took up the mantle of Saint Pacific, a moniker that allowed him to step outside the borders of his given name to find relevance and emotional resonance in a world shaped by turbulent forces and intentions beyond his control. A storyteller by nature, these new songs spoke of love’s wild inclinations, feelings driven by unpredictable urges drawn from the depths of our subconscious. Venturing through various strains of pop, rock, and folk music, Smith discovered the nuanced connections linking the histories of these genres, finding curious and compelling avenues to document his search for affection and companionship.
This sense of genre assimilation can be heard in his latest single, “Let the Rain Fall Down”, a piano ballad with theatrical ambitions. It’s a gorgeous compendium of influences, ranging from early Coldplay and vintage Neil Young with some slight allusions to Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”. Strings are stretched and shaken, spiraling around the keys in a complex network of movements designed to access vast reservoirs of emotion. His voice is calm yet burns with an intense inner desire. That need for connection, for some semblance of tactile feeling, is something that drives him deeper in the heart of his own creativities.
Smith cryptically explains: “On an old Neil Young live album, a guy in the audience hollers ‘They all sound the same!’…. Neil hollers back ‘It’s all one song!’…… I suppose I might add….’And it’s a love song.’“
Watch the video below.
Saint Pacific’s new album, Blue, is out now. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.
