Spotlight: From their bedroom in a coastal town in Ireland, Smoothboi Ezra makes heartbreakingly sincere music to soundtrack young love and growing up

 

☆ BY CATHLEEN KERRIGAN ☆

Photo By Leon McCullough

Photo By Leon McCullough

 
 

IN THE BEAUTIFUL AND CALM SEASIDE TOWN OF GREYSTONES, IRELAND - Smoothboi Ezra makes stunningly poignant music from their bedroom-turned-studio. The self-taught songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist released their debut EP Stuck today featuring four charming songs, which give a beautiful snapshot of the difficulties of navigating life as a sensitive teen, including their lived experience of love as a non-binary person on the autism spectrum. They say it feels good to finally have their EP released, and that now all they hope is that “everyone likes it”.

Stuck explores a retrospective look at a relationship and a fresh perspective on the pain and joy of young love; “The worst year of your life started when you met me/ You say I shouldn’t take it personally.” On "You," Ezra’s personal favourite on the EP, they cover the difficulties and complexity of love while transitioning from teen to adult with heartbreakingly concise turns of phrase that catch you off guard with their sincerity.

The heartfelt nature of their music makes for a really easy listening experience, but they have no plan or method when it comes to the key elements that make their music theirs. “I have zero clue, I have no idea what I’m doing, and I know that people who read my interviews are thinking that they’re lying, but I’m not. I’m genuinely winging it every second.” They’re certainly doing something right, having already garnered over 16 million Spotify streams and 1.4 million at Apple for their independent releases, but they are modest when discussing their process and the lessons learned in the making of Stuck, “I learned that I eat way too much tofu pad thai during stressful times.”

Smoothboi Ezra listed many of their key inspirations that shaped the feel of Stuck including, “Haley Heynderickx, Phoebe Bridgers, Angel Olsen, Mitski, Stella Donnelly, Soccer  Mommy, Elliott Smith, Kate Bush and Frank Ocean”, all of whom have left their imprint on this young artist in various ways that become more and more apparent on repeated listening.

Not too concerned or fussed on the changing landscape of the music industry, Smoothboi Ezra is happy to keep their head down and just keep doing what they're doing. “I’ll keep writing and producing music. I’ll just keep going and hope people keep listening.”

They themselves are focused on their next move right now and can’t wait to “gig and play my songs live, and to travel”. The shape of the Irish music scene is constantly in a state of flux, but its future has never felt brighter and that’s down to artists like Smoothboi Ezra who have always turned to music to express the deepest, truest parts of themselves. And there will always be a receptive audience for art that does just that.

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