Release Info/credits
Andy’s new album ‘Poetry in Exile’ is released on March 1st .‘Leaves to Burn’ is being released simultaneously. Andy follows the lush strings of ‘Prodigal Son’ and the big brassy wall of sound of ‘Out of My Mind’ with a
solo effort where he plays guitars, organ and bass a la McCartney.
The song is about a rural life spent working on a farm against the backdrop of the elements. It is inspired from Andy’s formative years, where he spent a year working on farms in the middle of England. It is a tough gig, planting in the Spring in lashing rain and harvesting in the Summer in blistering heat.. During this time Andy
met labourers who had been doing this all their lives and this provided the inspiration for the song. Furthermore, the song also seeks to raise the awareness of mental health in the farming community, where
emotional well-being is supported by close knit relationships.. In the storyline the narrator copes with personal loss by maintaining the rhythm of their everyday routine. Hence the refrains ‘no more leaves to burn’ and ‘why’s my sense of worth locked up in the earth’. Perhaps, the story telling of Springsteen on ‘Nebraska’ is an influence, along with the poetry of Walt Whitman and Laurie Lee.
Musically, Andy is creating a body of work, where melodic bass lines interweave with the lead organ and guitar riffs. He’s influenced by British music from the Beatles, to Bowie to the Britpop of Blur and the Verve. The harmony vocal lines are consciously trying to evoke memories of Lennon/McCartney and his writing is grounded in the classic British approach of describing the minutiae of everyday people’s lives in song as
McCartney did so effectively in ‘Eleanor Rigby’. Andy is motivated to sing ‘for the underdog’ in society and tell their story. There are many such tales to be discovered in ‘Poetry in Exile’.
Andy’s live performances have won over audiences and earned him accolades across the folk/acoustic circuit. With the release of ‘Poetry in Exile’ Andy is hoping to find a wider audience for his music beyond the UK grassroots scene and gain further recognition for his song writing, musicianship and arranging skills.

Song/album purchase link
https://andysmythe.bandcamp.com/

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