Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
The concept behind the new music video for AJ Smith’s single “Better” is admittedly more cerebral than what you see in the bulk of indie-pop releases coming out of the underground this year, but its postmodern fusion of self-awareness, humility, and an understated longing that inevitably evolves into a brief yet rather violent scene makes for quite the intriguing piece indeed.
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Personal dualities and a desire to seemingly call himself out dominate the poetic narrative in “Better,” but here Smith nonetheless sounds like an artist who is less interested in ego than he is advancing a communicative pop sound as pleasing to the ears as it is the mind.
I never get the impression from this singer that any of the emotion he’s either describing or using to develop a theme inside of a song is inauthentic or suggestive; it feels like it’s coming from Smith’s soul, and nowhere else. He’s not commentarial in this performance but instead quite introspective, shredding through allusions that too many pop singles revolve around (mostly because their creators are afraid to be as vulnerable as this player is here). His words are precious, and they’re given the weight for us to recognize that in “Better.”
While I didn’t think I would be hearing a masterpiece when I sat down with this all-new release from AJ Smith, I’ve come to realize this year that his music is certainly a diamond in the rough when it comes to the contemporary pop beat. He’s not self-conscious but instead radiantly honest with his audience and himself in “Better,” and his poignant verses and the melodies carrying them forth have got the kind of catchiness that the mainstream market demands out of everyone from scrubs to superstars. I love the brooding nature of everything he’s written so far, and this latest piece makes his ramshackle competitors all the smaller in his rearview mirror.
Keith Middlebrooks
