Hannah Smart

“Cry All You Want” is the latest single from 22-year-old Boston-based up and coming artist Hannah Smart. The classically trained musician certainly wasn’t shy when it came to pouring plenty of artfully eccentric expression into her soundscape with this release.

Instead of attempting to fit in with the archetypally polished contemporary Pop style, she has used the distinction in her voice and soulfully folkish soundscape to set herself leagues apart from other up and coming artists.

While Cry All You Want may not be a track which is swimming in commercial potential, it exudes something much more visceral. The meaning behind the lyrics is amplified with the raw and unaltered versing, making it all too easy to make a real human connection with this track.

You can check out Hannah Smart’s single Cry All You Want by heading over to Spotify now

Review by Amelia Vandergast - A&R Factory

As musicians, we all make our own path. That is one of the things that makes music so great. All these journeys create a wide variety of music for us to enjoy. At only 20 years old, Hannah Smart has already figured a lot of this out. Her unique style is extremely relatable.

She has her debut album The Reason Why I Don’t Believe in Love releasing on December 23rd (TODAY!). We caught up with Hannah Smart to see how she got where she is and where she is headed. Enjoy the interview here:

What first drew you to creating music?

I grew up listening to classic rock artists like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin, and I also took music lessons from a young age, so I had a solid theoretical background. When I was a teenager and started playing the guitar, I discovered that not only could I play covers of songs I really liked, but I could also create my own stuff and use it as an outlet for self-expression.

I understand you play a right-handed guitar upside down. How did that happen?

I taught myself the guitar and I guess it was some combination of the fact that I’m left-handed and that’s the natural way for me to play and my somewhat stubborn idea that I could learn the instrument without any instruction whatsoever. I knew I was playing “wrong” soon after beginning, but at that point, it was too late to change, and I didn’t really want to.

How would you describe the unique Hannah Smart sound?

Raw and authentic. For someone who has had as much musical training as I have, my sound comes across as pretty untrained and unrefined, but that’s part of the aesthetic I’m going for.

Which artists have influenced your musical development most?

The Beatles have influenced my melodies and chord progressions more than any other artist. Stylistically, I’ve taken influence primarily from 90s alternative bands like Radiohead and Nirvana. Lyrically, I’ve been most influenced by Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd. However, in addition to popular sources, I draw heavily from classical sources such as composers John Williams, Chopín, and Liszt.



How does a song develop for you?

Usually, my best songs write themselves. Whenever I have a feeling that I can’t articulate verbally, I try to express that feeling musically instead. Generally, I write the chords, melody, and lyrics, in that order, but there are a few exceptions—in “Destination Forever” and “You’re On Your Own,” for example, the lyrics came before anything else.







We hear your debut album The Reason Why I Don’t Believe in Love is ready for release. Tell us about the process of writing and recording it?

The album is a compilation of songs that I’ve written over the past six years. For the nine originals, I tried to select songs that fit the album’s overall theme of disillusionment and isolation. Even the three cover songs included on the album follow that theme. I recorded the album using recording equipment at my college. It was the first time I’d produced anything serious, so the experience really was a learning process, but it was an enjoyable one.

What is next for Hannah Smart?
These next couple months, I’m going to mostly be working on promoting the album and hopefully landing some gigs. I’d like to think another album is in my future because I have a lot of songs that haven’t been able to share with others yet.

What advice would you give to other singer-songwriters pursuing their passion?

Don’t compromise yourself. Lots of people think they need to change themselves to garner a bigger audience, but you’ll be far more memorable and successful if you just stick to doing what you love.


Keep up with Hannah Smart on her WEBSITE and socials

ReverbNation: http://www.reverbnation.com/hannahsmart

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imightnotbewrong/ - Indie Band Guru

Hannah Smart is a 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Middlebury, VT. She was classically trained in piano and viola at a young age but started writing songs and playing guitar at the age of 15. However, being left-handed and self-taught, she accidentally learned how to play a right-handed guitar upside down and still plays that way to this day, considering the syncopated style her playing produces a trademark of her sound. Her first full-length album, “The Reason Why I Don’t Believe in Love,” was released on CD Baby on December 23, 2017. Her style is alternative with a hint of folk and psychedelia. Her biggest influences are the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Decemberists, Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, and Bob Dylan.

SOURCE: Official Bio - Jammerzine