NATE SMITH RELEASES HIS NEW ALBUM “CALIFORNIA GOLD”
Track Listing:
1. Fix What You Didn’t Break
2. Want Me Back
3. What Alone Looks Like
4. Can You Die From A Broken Heart (with Avril Lavigne)
5. Perfect
6. Carry You Home
7. Goodbye Again
8. Not of This Earth
9. Wish I Never Felt
10. Faith
11. Bittersweet
12. Gave It All
13. Hurtless
14. Bulletproof
15. California Gold
16. I Like It (with Alesso)
CUT x CUT (Audio)
Nate Smith – “Fix What You Didn’t Break” – Story Behind the Song
So “Fix What You Didn’t Break” This is one of my favorite songs I’ve been a part of writing. I remember the day that I went in to go write it. It was with Ashley Gorley, Lindsay Rimes, and Taylor Phillips, and we were just kind of, like, leaning into, like, my influences of, like, what I grew up listening to. So I grew up listening to a lot of pop rock, stuff like Lifehouse, Late 90’s, or Late 90’s early 2000’s and just like that nostalgic thing, you know, and I just have always loved the sound of those anthems that they made. So we really we really went after the song, in that way, when we wrote it and stuff, but it just from a sonic standpoint, it sounds incredible. I love the chorus how how big it gets and everything and then, lyrically, I don’t know, it’s got that meaningful sentimental thing that I love, that whole, like, redeeming love, aspect to it. So the song’s very special to me.
Nate Smith – “Want Me Back” – Story Behind the Song
So “Want Me Back” Like, I feel like sometimes in a relationship, at least, I’m guilty of this, where I tend to, like, prioritize them like crazy, and then like, I totally forget about myself. Like, I get lost in a relationship, it kind of becomes my identity. So when you, when you break up, sometimes you kind of, like, lose a part of yourself it feels like. I feel like the song did a good job of just, sort of like, I wrote this one with Ashley and some friends, and I feel like it does a good job of sort of like touching on that. Like, what I really miss the most is me, like, I miss myself and I want to get back to who I was before this relationship, but then again, like the relationship, the hardship that you go through it, it does change you. So you do grow as a person. So I don’t want to be exactly who I was before, but the the pieces of me that I love, like I want that stuff back.
Nate Smith – “What Alone Looks Like” – Story Behind the Song
I’m a huge fan of rock music. I have my, it’s probably cause my dad, my dad always listens to rock and everything. My type of rock that I liked growing up was like, Nickelback. Like, I, I literally loved and love their music so much and I think even from the top of “What Alone Looks Like” the song, even the top that has this like tremolo guitar that’s like da, da, da, that just feels like, oh my gosh, it’s going to get huge. Then the drums come by and it goes into the chorus or the intro and it’s so insane. I think I’m actually going to like start opening the shows with that song because it’s so intense, but it has a really good message about it. I mean, like, is it is it like, “I don’t want to live a life without you, now that I’m with you or is it I don’t want to live a life without you and I haven’t had you yet”. I don’t know. So it’s kind of got this, like, interesting relate ability to it, but I love this song. It’s a powerhouse of a song.
Nate Smith – “Can You Die From A Broken Heart” featuring Avril Lavigne – Story Audio
Alright, “Can You Die From A Broken Heart”. The opening line, “the flowers in my hallway died two weeks ago”. Like, that’s like the saddest, like, intro for a song lyric. It’s it’s absolutely crazy. It talks about like time healing, time is supposed to heal your heart in all these things. But I love that. Like, there’s not really an answer sometimes. There’s not always, it’s not always black and white. It’s not always like, you’re going to get over somebody, or you’re not going to go over somebody, or whatever it is. Like, this song is just really living in the moment of the pain and just asking a question, “can you die from a broken heart?”. Like, “am I ever going to get over this?” You know, and I think there’s something really human about asking questions like that and, I think Avril Lavigne’s a perfect person to sing it with me. I’m a huge fan of her. My favorite song by her is “I’m With You” and I feel like this song, like, I would never say it’s like it’s that song, but, like, it has a nod to it, like it sort of feels, it feels like that to me.
Nate Smith – “Perfect” – Story Audio
The song “Perfect” is probably one of my favorite songs on the entire record. I just love the way that the song starts. It sort of takes you somewhere. I love songs that take you into an experience sort of and this song kind of has that starts with the drums kind of going like this, you know, and then like slowly, like the acoustic guitar comes in and more and more elements. It just feels like, like you’re entering into something, you know, and, it has that nostalgic Goo Goo Dolls, kind of like mandolin, sort of epic drums, like, I don’t know, it’s just the sonics of the song are incredible. I think we really did a good job of, of really bringing it to life, but then the lyrics. The lyrics of the song are incredible, and I think there’s something to be said about, like, “man, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. You’re perfect in every single way. The only thing that’s not perfect about you is me”, and there’s something really honest about that, because we’re all flawed. We’re human beings. But this song, it’s been on repeat for me since we recorded it. Yeah.
Nate Smith – “Carry You Home” – Story Audio
“Carry You Home” is just a big old love ballad, but it’s also like, I don’t want songs that are, like, too clean in the sense of, like, where they were. They’re just like two perfect. You know what I mean? This song has a little bit of edge to it, too. It’s kind of like, “is this going to work out?” Sort of. I sort of like the whole like, I don’t know, like the relationship, like “is it going to work or not”. You know, I sort of like that, I guess, in a way, but this song just has like a lot of imagery in the verses and then the chorus just feels really raw and honest. Musically overall, like to me it feels like, it’s that like, I don’t know if Ed Sheeran’s the right way to put it, but like, maybe like that, like “Collide” by Howie Day, but not as cute? Maybe? And then like, the chorus has these huge, like, monster drums. I love Imagine Dragons too I love their music, I love their, like, sonics and stuff, and it kind of has this like epic, anthemic thing. So I love “Carry You Home” it’s so good.
Nate Smith – “Goodbye Again” – Story Audio
“Goodbye Again” There’s another big rocker on this album. I think it’s important. Like, so, I actually have to thank my label, too, for helping me with this. When we’re picking songs, it can be, it can be hard to do, really hard to do, and I can kind of miss certain things and, my A&R at the label was really good about, just going like, “hey, like, you put out “World On Fire”, you put out “Whiskey On You”, and “Bulletproof” these are all rockers. You’ve built a fan base around these songs”, and I love I love those songs, “but it’s important that we have songs, as we move through the career that still cater to those folks”, you know, and, and and that side of me and my music. So “Goodbye Again” is one of those songs that, like, if you like those songs, you’re going to love this one. It’s got a huge hammer of a chorus. It’s it’s a it’s one of those songs that talks about, you know, like “no matter where you go, like you can’t stop thinking about them” or something or, you know, reminds you, you might be driving down the road, you see a car that they drove and it’s like, oh my gosh, like, you might really not be over that person. Like, “why am I thinking that”? You know, but I love this song. It’s great.
Nate Smith – “Not of This Earth” – Story Audio
“Not of This Earth” Okay, so I’m a big Ed Sheeran guy, I love Ed Sheeran’s music. This song feels like Ed Sheeran wrote it. It does to me, but it’s super stripped down. It’s mostly acoustic with some very, like, light instruments and stuff, but it has a very honest lyric about love, and I don’t know, it just makes me feel things, makes me feel things. I hope you guys love this one.
Nate Smith – “Faith” – Story Audio
“Faith”, it’s a, it’s a, it’s a freaking hammer of a song. It is, an anthem. If you can’t tell, I like anthems. I feel like I’ve said this a bunch of times, but this song just really feels like a massive hit. Like, I love it so much. It’s a sing-along-able You can sing along to the song like almost as soon as you’re first hearing it, but it has kind of like an interesting thing like, am I talking about a girl or am I talking about, a characteristic that somebody brings to the table? I don’t know, I don’t know, so I’ll let you guys interpret that one. I just think it’s a great song.
Nate Smith – “Bittersweet” – Story Audio
“Bittersweet” is a song that Ryan Hurd actually sent to me. Ryan, thank you so much for sending this song. It’s an incredible piano ballad, stripped down, and what I like about the song so much is that sometimes there isn’t an answer. There isn’t an answer after a breakup. Like, “I’m not really happy, I’m not really sad. I’m just sort of bittersweet”. I feel like it’s a very, very honest song. Joel did an amazing job producing it. I hope you guys like this one. It’s really. It’s really sweet. It’s really honest.
Nate Smith – “Gave It All” – Story Audio
Oh, man. “Gave It All”. This song, this is another one, this is another one with a lot of energy. This song feels very, very, very, rock, but it’s like, it’s also like driving and dancy. It’s got this, like, kind of thing going right here. We call it four on the floor. It just feels so intense. It’s a desperate song. It’s a song about like, like, “Was I not enough for you? Was I not enough?”. So it’s a little bit of an angry song, I do have that side. Yeah.
Nate Smith – “Hurtless” – Story Audio
“Hurtless” This song’s so cool. “Hurtless” is is a song, and I talked about this before, but where songs bring you into, like, an environment, it it can almost, like, feel like I’m on a desert, or like I’m in a desert, or I’m like, driving down like an old Route 66 highway and I can see the tumbleweeds and stuff. It has this, like, super desolate desperation, you know, cowboy kind of vibe. I don’t know, it’s really cool and the lyrics are very honest, about being hurt. Like, “gosh, I wish I didn’t feel so much, but I do”. Yeah, this one’s really special.
Nate Smith – “Bulletproof” – Story Audio
“Bulletproof” It’s such a true song. It’s so relatable, at least into my life as well. That, like, you can try all these things to try and get over somebody, and sometimes you just can’t and, it’s sad to say that because I always try to find the hope and everything, but there’s times where there might be that person that really did, did get away, you know? And you’ve tried everything you can to try and forget their memory, but some people just kind of make that that impact on your life, and, yeah, I think that’s what the song’s about.
Nate Smith – “California Gold” – Story Audio
“California Gold” is the album track, that the title track, for California Gold and, this song is, it’s really cool because there’s a lot of Easter eggs in this song. It was the last song we wrote because we realized I was sitting there with Ashley Gorley on my team, and and I was like, oh my gosh, we didn’t write the title track for the song or for the album. We haven’t done it yet. So we talked about, kind of like, my upbringing and where I’m from and stuff. So there’s lines in there like “Honey Run River”, Honey Run River was the river right in Paradise and Chico that kind of connects the two. We would go down there and hang out all the time. That was a special place for us and then, like, there’s a there’s another little Easter egg, “like prime time cigarettes”. Me and my friends were, like, we’d get them, there would be, like, cherry flavored or black cherry or like watermelon, whatever it was and we would smoke those. So just a lot of little memories in there and that song, it just really makes me feel like I’m going back in time. I put out a song called “Sleeve” on my first record, and, it had this, like, kind of like driving down the highway, sort of Fleetwood Mac kind of vibe. I feel like we did a nice nod to that with “California Gold”. I hope you love it.
Nate Smith – “I Like It” (with Alesso) – Story Audio
“I Like It” Oh my gosh, this song is so freaking fun! Alesso, thank you so much for teaming up with me on this one. It’s been a game changer for me and we actually been playing it every, every show that I do. We end the show and do this big old party moment and we just, we just go crazy on the song and lift our hands up like this. It’s so fun. The song just it just, it’s, it’s like the perfect, like, balance between, like, EDM dance party and country music. You know, you have lines like, “put my hands on my Levi’s” and stuff like that. So it kind of has like nods to both genres. I’m a huge EDM guy. I’ve always loved dance music. So because some people are like, “man, keep it country, bro, keep it country” and I’m like, “I’m definitely, country, but I also love all these other types of music”. So the fact that I get to record songs and stuff, I’m probably going to do stuff that’s outside of the box and, this is one of the songs.
Listen to Nate Smith’s new song “Can You Die From A Broken Heart” with Avril Lavigne now!