7/10
With his twentieth album '...this is not ok...', Matt Smith leans straight into the mess of being alive right now. This record feels like it was written with the windows open, letting the noise of the world rush in, then carefully shaping that chaos into something grounded and quietly defiant.
Across the record, the singer and songwriter moves fluidly between the personal and the political, often within the same breath. Tracks like 'World Is a Wheel' arrive with a sense of motion and hard-earned optimism, carried by grooves that feel steeped in American soil. There’s a reassuring looseness to it, the sound of someone choosing to keep moving even when the road feels uncertain. But that sense of perseverance is quickly contrasted by heavier moments like 'Cry for America', which doesn’t flinch from grief or frustration, instead letting those emotions sit plainly in the open.
Elsewhere, he channels sharper edges. 'Bad Man' bristles with controlled fury. The tension here is palpable, driven by arrangements that simmer rather than explode, trusting the weight of the words to do the work. On the other end of the emotional spectrum, 'From the Ashes' feels like a slow rebuild, offering a sense of resilience that feels deeply earned.
Some of the album’s most affecting moments come when he turns inward. 'Orphans' and 'Level Ground' linger on memory, aging, and the quiet reckoning that arrives with time. These songs feel conversational, as if Smith is sitting across from you, reflecting rather than performing. Relationship complexities surface in 'I’ll Never Fall in Love Again' and the shadowy 'A Life in Love', which explores commitment with nuance instead of romance-by-numbers.
What ties all of this together is Smith’s voice, channelling a weathered, expressive, and unwavering flow. His blend of rootsy warmth, soulful phrasing, and jazz-tinged phrasing gives the album a lived-in feel, like these songs have existed long before being recorded.
'...this is not ok...' is music made by someone who believes songs can still hold people together. In a time defined by fracture, Matt Smith offers a record that insists that connection is still possible.
