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'The Cricket’s Orchestra' an Elegantly Diverse Debut for Meaghan Smith
by Nadya Vlassoff
After spending time with the October 6 release
of "The Cricket’s Orchestra," Meaghan Smith is
certainly one of the finest hidden gems to come
out of the east coast music scene. One of four
daughters within a musical family, Smith found
solace on the piano as a young girl while also
exposed to the melodies of old musicals. Drawing
from personal experience to find her way as an
artist, the past and present converge for Meaghan
Smith as a wonderful foundation on her debut album,
"The Cricket’s Orchestra".
A self-proclaimed shy girl when it comes to expressing love, the tracks of "Cricket’s Orchestra" provide a porthole into an artist in bloom as Meaghan Smith invites new fans into a world of love lost and love never gained. "The Cricket’s Orchestra" is one of the most diverse and sophisticated albums of the year as Smith bears her soul in an 11 track musical kaleidoscope that dances delicately between a variety of genres and decades, featuring country, jazz, and even a few chords reminiscent of the lindy hop 1920s cabaret scene. Above all, Smith’s voice resonates with the confidence of a seasoned jazz singer yet is subtly layered with a relatable sweet shyness from the child within. There is something almost intangible about Meaghan Smith. Within the many diverse layers of the album, the arrangement of "The Cricket’s Orchestra" is, in many ways, a parallel soundtrack of Smith’s own life.
The heart-pulling ballads "A Piece for You" and "5 More Minutes" are more wistful in nature yet reflectively soothing as Smith offers comfort in times of loss, sadness and pain while also tapping into her inner child, the one who doesn’t want to go to bed. Smith’s emotional love songs aren’t the typical ballads one might expect, especially "If You Asked Me" and "Take Me Dancing". With swing melodies, both tracks have an air of 1940s dance with hints of xylophone accompanied by a horn section that conjures vivid imagery of the big band era. Ambitious and far reaching in quality, "The Cricket’s Orchestra" paints like a collection of Claude Monet’s impressionist works sprinkled with a touch of innocence, elegant yet simple.
 Although
"The Cricket’s Orchestra" is one of the best
debuts of 2009, it’s clear that Meaghan Smith
has set the bar high for her career. In many
ways that’s good, in others perhaps more challenging
when it comes to a second album of equal or
better quality. "The Cricket’s Orchestra" is
an impressive percussive recipe of piano combined
with an eclectic array of traditional instruments
and arrangements. Even a whistling solo in "I
Know" is reminiscent of old country with the
mental image of a gentleman who tips his hat
as he walks by your mind.
It would be easy to categorize Smith alongside contemporaries like Adele, Yael Naim, and Marie Digby. But Smith has done so much more than just make music for the sake of trying. "The Cricket’s Orchestra" gives us a peek into a lyrical heart that ebbs and flows so elegantly with accompanying melodies. Meaghan Smith has the talent to become an extremely significant songwriter. In such a rapid fire, attention deprived age; "The Cricket’s Orchestra" is a refreshing and refined musical journey through the decadent 1920s to the economically challenged 30s to the 40s that saw the rise of jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald. The best aspect of "Cricket’s" is that it’s only the beginning of what sounds like a bright and rewarding career for Meaghan Smith.
To get a preview listen of "The Cricket’s Orchestra," head this way to the official website of Meaghan Smith.
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