David Smalt has released a heavy amount of tracks over the past couple of years, including the 2018 LP Fragile Magick and his single from earlier this year "Dear Old Earth". Now comes alt-folk positivity anthem "On The Mountain", the first song Smalt has written, recorded, and produced as a single unit. The one-person production matches the intimacy of the track; the song describes a rough point in Smalt's life which took place during the chaos in Charlottesville in 2017. "On The Mountain" describes the impossible feeling of trying to overcome listlessness and lack of purpose, as well as the strength that it takes to finally do it. Take a listen below. - Will Sisskind

David Smalt dropped his new single "dear old Earth", and it's every bit as professionally tuned and yet DIY-esque and loose as his previous release, the 2018 debut LP Fragile Magick. Smalt's vocal range and dreamy delivery shine on the new track, which features his sparse guitar strumming tucked into waves of dark synths and a clockwork drum machine. Though the first part of the song contains wonderful lyrics written in Smalt's poetic style, the second half washes you away into a climax of chords and tremolo before sinking you into a watery soundscape and fading to a single note. It's got the bedroom pop vibe that's catching all the attention online, but "dear old Earth" shines in its execution and production. Don't sleep on it; listen to the track below. - Will Sisskind

David Smalt's vocal timbre alone is so enchanting, with a stunning mixture of grit and tenderness, that I had a hard time paying attention to the words he was actually singing the first time listening to "Grand Theft Cosmos." Then I listened again, and still found myself entranced by Smalt's voice. He could sing the phonebook and it would sound good. Without giving too much away about the song (you should really just listen), the lyric "Since you stopped by, star-bright / I am frozen sunshine" absolutely took the air out of my body. Though it's hard to pinpoint where exactly the sound of "Grand Theft Cosmos" evolved from, it's reminiscent of Bon Iver, Bob Dylan and James Taylor- there's a great guitar line, a sweet piano thrown in toward the end, simple percussion. David Smalt's new record Fragile Magick is out 9/7. I can't wait. -Geena Kloeppel