Stuff Happens is the title of a new album by New York City singer-songwriter Stuffy Shmitt. This record comes just over eight years after the release of the two albums he released in 2012, Twelve Songs and Industrial Love. However, Shmitt couldn’t handle the tremendous pressure placed on him afterward, and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which drove him pretty crazy with depression and unstoppable mania.
Between 2000 and 2008 he also released several albums that confirmed his great talent as a singer and songwriter. But it was the skyrocketing expectations of the music industry that ultimately drove him into such a fragile state. Shmitt was thoroughly treated, moved to Nashville six years ago and now seems to have resurrected as a musician. On Stuff Happens, the 11 songs he wrote for this album show that he has joy, joie de vivre and optimism again.
We can conclude that from the song “It’s OK,” the opening track and first single of the album. In the beautiful acoustic ballad “Mommy and Daddy,” he cleverly interprets the timeless feeling of aging. The album features a well-thought-out mix of indie folk, blues rock and Americana.
Catchy melodies are the basis of the rocking songs “Jim’s Dad” and “Sweet Krazy,” while blues sounds predominate in songs like “Scratchin ‘At The Cat” and “The Good Land.” Shmitt also shines in beautifully orchestrated Americana ballads such as “She’s Come Unglued,” “Mommy and Daddy,” “Something Big” and piano-accompanied “The Last Song,” in which he reminds us for a moment of David Bowie. And we also have to mention our favorite track from this album, “Sleeping On The Wet Spot”, a classic in the making that ripples onto a lovely melody.
For the recording of this new album, Shmitt’s regular backing band received instrumental assistance from some well-known names in the Nashville music scene. Aaron Lee Tasjan and Brian Wright played lead guitar on “Sweet Krazy” and “Scratchin ‘At The Cat,” Jellyroll Johnson appears on harmonica on “The Good Land” and Anana Kaye and Brett Ryan Stewart handle keyboards. And, finally, in our opinion, album producer Chris Tench also deserves to be honored here for all the excellent work he turned in from his recording studio in Franklin, Tenn.
CATCH THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE (& WATCH STUFFY SHMITT’S VIDEOS FOR “IT’S OK” & “MOMMY AND DADDY” AT ROOTSTIME BELGIUM..
