ZG Smith Releases New Single 'Sure Thing' from Debut EP 'Nighttime Animal'

The Nashville-based artist ZG Smith a released "Sure Thing," the third song to be pulled from his debut EP Nighttime Animal that will be released on February 23 via Tone Tree. The six-song EP finds the singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist stepping out on his own following 10+ years fronting the acclaimed roots-music duo Smooth Hound Smith and exploring his own unique blend of spaced-out psychedelic folk music.

The EP was co-produced by Smith and Jonathan Smalt, producer and drummer for Devon Gilfillian, and also features Gilfilian himself ("Hooks"), Taylor Thompson (Bass), Blake Reams (pedal steel) and Josh Baylock (keyboards).

Under The Radar premiered the single and said, "'Sure Thing' strikes off in a different direction than the previous singles, offering breezy, golden-hued acoustics tempered with a nostalgic and meditative bent. The track's warm guitar lines, subdued percussion, and dreamy vocals give it an alluring and effortless sheen, even as the lyrics find Smith searching for an elusive path forward."

"This song is a meditation on the post-pandemic apathy that I think a lot of people are feeling. The lyrics are meant to describe someone (in this case I imagined them as a music executive, or booking agent, or A&R person) who no longer trusts their own instincts and is struggling with burnout, and feeling jaded and blasé.

The way the music lopes along, light and breezy, but also kind of nostalgic due to the nylon string guitar and unusual chord voicings, works well with the idea that the character in the song is searching for something undeniable, chasing a dream that's always just out of reach; I wanted it to feel like mini version of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman,' distilled into a song," Smith explains.

Late last year, Smith released the EP's title track "Nighttime Animal" that was co-written with Kyshona and "Let Me Back In," which features Antibalas' Ray Mason on trombone.

ZG Smith is the Los Angeles-born, Nashville-based son of an English professor mother and a shipwreck diver and underwater archaeologist father. For over ten years, he fronted the band Smooth Hound Smith who headlined tours in the US, Europe and UK and supported artists like The Chicks, Collective Soul, Trombone Shorty, Jamestown Revival and many more. Following the release of their third album in 2019 and a month long European tour in February 2020, the band's forced hiatus caused Smith to refocus on other artistic pursuits and what he wanted his future to look like.

"I started actually seeking out music again, like I did when I was younger. I realized that I had been so focused on Smooth Hound and trying to push the band forward, that I kind of stopped listening to music just for enjoyment. I had the time, so I dug this massive hole in my backyard, leveled it off, and laid a patio made up of over 1,200 bricks, all by hand. It took me about a month, and I would just be out there all day in the sun listening to North African desert blues, or EDM, or '90s hip hop, or bizarre, outsider folk music. A lot of that stuff that I only realize now with some perspective, really informed the music I ended up creating months later."

ZG Smith will celebrate the Nighttime Animal EP release on February 23 with a show at The East Room in Nashville, TN. Tickets are on sale now.

Listen to the new single here:

Photo Credit: Working Holiday

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