Credit: Alex Hanson at Hipgnosis Media
Today, Bella Union has released Anxious, the acclaimed posthumous debut solo album from Nell Smith. The collection has earned acclaim spanning Rolling Stone, SPIN, Stereogum, FLOOD, BrooklynVegan, American Songwriter, Consequence, Exclaim!, Guitar Girl Magazine, Jambase, Northern Transmissions, Punknews.org, CBC and much more. A lot of Nell’s creative drive was rooted in raw teenage emotions; apprehension; love; travel; gratefulness; ambition; and grief. These moods are visited throughout the tracks on the album with an instrumental approach that brings joy into even the darkest of songs. Soaring final album cut “Daisy Fields” is released today. This song was written directly under the eyes of a film crew that was shooting a documentary about Nell's story with The Flaming Lips in the Spring of 2022 at a writing session with Shred Kelly in Fernie. The unorthodox setting made for a surprisingly organic writing process that developed quickly from a few chords and a glance at a photograph of a Daisy Field on the wall.
Listen / Share: “Daisy Fields”
Posthumous record releases will always be charged with emotion but when the release comes from a 17 year-old artist that was just getting started it’s heartbreaking beyond expression. Anxious is a mesmerizing selection of songs that explore the highs, lows and uncertainty of teenage life through the eyes of Nell and is the follow-up to Where The Viaduct Looms, her debut collaboration with The Flaming Lips that explored the works of Nick Cave. Guided by the talented Jack and Lily Wolter of Penelope Isles, who helped shape Nell’s songs, some of which had been in the works since she was twelve years old, the result is an album brimming with emotion, playful melodies and a depth that hints at what Nell’s future may have held.
“It is still very painful when I realize Nell is gone”, says Wayne Coyne. “I keep thinking I’ll check my text messages from her. I’m sure she has a new drawing or new piece of a song or a new photo of her cat… and then I remember she is gone. Now when I’m listening to her singing these songs there is a brief fantastical joy. Her voice hits the ear, the ear tells brain this is the sound of love, the brain lets the mind fly through the billions of connections it has with Nell’s life... but as it flies it also flies to her death... there is something holy that happens now.”
The Nell Smith Memorial Fund set up by Nell’s family to honor her legacy and support emerging musicians has already raised $47,800. The fund aims to raise $100,000 and award $10,000 every year for ten years with profits from the release going directly into the fund’s corpus. New to the website are lovingly crafted limited edition Nell & Wayne T-shirts celebrating their creative relationship. To visit Nell’s website click here.
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