Goldmyth is the stage name for Jenessa Smith, a harpist and songwriter who performs indie pop in Provo, Utah. She learned to play the harp as a teenager, and is influenced by indie rock. Critics praised her ethereal and melancholy harp sounds in her tightly produced indie-pop songs from her EP Faded Dream (2017). Her single "My Mistake" had a similar reception. "Lover's Letdown" was featured in the pilot episode of the HBO series The Sex Lives of College Girls.
Goldmyth | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jenessa Smith |
| Origin | Utah |
| Genres | electropop,[1] indie pop,[2] lo-fi[3] |
| Instrument(s) | harp, singing |
| Website | goldmythmusic |
Background and influences
editSmith took harp and piano lessons as a child. As a teenager, she listened to indie rock.[5] Her influences are Joni Mitchell, James Blake, Sufjan Stevens.[1] and Death Cab for Cutie.[3] Nate Pyfer and Mason Porter co-produced her EP Faded Dream.[1] Pyfer previously produced for Kaskade and The Moth & The Flame, while Porter has produced for Haarlem and Polytype.[6] Smith said that Robbie Connolly was helpful in getting her solo project off the ground.[5] Smith writes her songs using a harp and a looper in Provo, Utah.[5][7]
Critical reception
editAt Cover Me, Ben Easton praised Smith's music, describing it as "washed-out and blissful, filled with malaise yet still musically vivid."[8] HillyBilly praised Smith's Faded Dream (2017) EP for showing "undisputed skill in crafting tight, concise indie-pop compositions."[1] Paste magazine described her vocals as "otherworldly" in songs with "vulnerable lyrics."[1] Birch Street Radio reviewed Smith's debut EP, Faded Dream, describing her music as a blend of her "delicate" voice with "harp [and] layers of synth and percussion."[9] Obscure Sound described "Lover's Letdown" as alternating between rhythmically sparse and lush and "infused with glistening harp sounds".[6]
Her single "My Mistake" has a "melancholic pop sound" and "lush vocals" in a song with "excellent production and songwriting," according to indie music review site Obscure Sound.[10] Birch Street Radio included the song in their July 2020 roundup and noticed that the harp took center stage.[7] Indie Shuffle also liked the harp's unique role in the song, writing that it created an "organically magical sound."[4] At Cost Magazine liked the song's "quiet pensiveness" and its "ephemeral fade".[11] Smith wrote the song after reflecting on her mistakes, or lack thereof, after a long-term relationship ended and she moved to LA.[3]
Smith said that when she first heard Gorillaz's "Melancholy Hill", she felt a kinship with a song that led her to cover it.[8] Smith's song, "Lover's Letdown", was featured in the first episode of the HBO series The Sex Lives of College Girls.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Goldmyth Albums :: NoiseTrade :: Paste Magazine". www.pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ a b Collier, Zach (29 November 2021). "Goldmyth Hits HBO Max". Provo Music Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ a b c "Inspired #147 - Goldmyth". When The Horn Blows. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Goldmyth - My Mistake". Indie Shuffle. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Sheehan, Gavin (23 May 2017). "Goldmyth". Salt Lake City Weekly. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Listen: Goldmyth - "Lover's Letdown"". www.obscuresound.com. Obscure Sound. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ a b "From Toronto to Melbourne, our latest music picks". Birch Street Radio. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ a b Easton, Ben (14 February 2022). "Harpist Goldmyth Ventures Up "On Melancholy Hill" with New Gorillaz Cover". Cover Me. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ "From Toronto to Melbourne, our latest music picks". Birch Street Radio. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ Mineo, Mike (10 July 2020). "Listen: Goldmyth - "My Mistake"". www.obscuresound.com. Obscure Sound. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ "Goldmyth - My Mistake". at cost magazine.