Nika Smith - 2010 - s k i n

Lofi Folk Pop

[FOR FREE]

http://musicnikasmith.bandcamp.com/album/s-k-i-n
http://musicnikasmith.bandcamp.com/album/iii 

• 6 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Ego, My Heart Window

Impressions

There is something rather personal about these lo-fi releases. Unpolished as lo-fi records naturally tend to be, they often seem to be able to evoke the feeling of a more hands on approach compared to perfectly produced records that are calculated from beginning to end. Nika Smith is quite talented, which is plainly obvious in a few standout tracks that do a great job of capturing the interest of someone skimming through her music. She is also among the few artists realizing that the first spot on a record is a very, very important one in this hard-fought independent scene and Track 1 on s k i n, Ego, and the first track on iii, Kiss My Bottle of Wine, are both tracks that you definitely should give a listen. Her other songs are good as well, but most of them unfortunately seem to drown a bit in the overall mood of her music because they are stylistically too similar and didn't manage to be distinguishable enough in my head even after relistening both records about 10 times. To be fair, one should mention here that she did remedy that shortcoming with some more recent recordings like The Shaman & The Hunt, which shows more of her musical versatility. If you feel like supporting her, you can grab it on top of the free records mentioned earlier for $3 here: http://theshamanandthehunt.bandcamp.com/album/playscape
However, even with the flaws that s k i n has, it is undeniable that these songs are filled with charme, personality and a certain closeness that make me care about what Nika is humming into empty space of this room we share when this record runs over my speakers. She is most certainly a welcome visitor in this apartment and I look forward to her next visit with new stories to tell.