(Ghost Mountain Records, cassette, digital)
When singer-songwriter Maryse Smith released Silence Is Golden in fall 2022, the West Tisbury, Mass., artist had been musically dormant for seven years. Understandably so, given that the former Burlingtonian added “mother” to her list of qualifications in the interim — twice, in fact.
“I’m a slow mover,” Smith told Seven Days in 2015, on the cusp of her creative and maternal sabbatical. That’s some prescription-strength foreshadowing right there.
With the release of her latest album, Transience, Smith splits herself apart: One half seems to look back at the past 10 years, while the other fixates on the horizon. Where does that leave her? Smack-dab in the present, fully conscious and aware. She brings to life nine new rock tunes crafted at Burlington’s Little Jamaica Recordings with producer Benny Yurco, a previous collaborator known to many for his work with Grace Potter.
Smith’s bicameral state of mind presents most clearly on “635,” a propulsive anthem that examines how artists can exist in two states simultaneously.
“What kind of life do you want to live / What kind of album do you want to make?” she asks herself after a trifecta of early-morning annoyances — a crowing rooster, a barking dog and a blaring alarm clock — jolts her into action.
Are the two thoughts diametrically opposed? It’s not like life makes it easy for mothers to seek fulfillment outside of caretaking. Such questions have surely jockeyed for position at the forefront of her mind. Fortunately, Smith is “working in a new paradigm,” seemingly one that finds balance between the grind and creative fulfillment.
Smith’s primary bandmates for the album, fellow Martha’s Vineyard instrumentalists Stuart Rodegast and Nora Knight, construct a muscular foundation of bass and drums, respectively. Aside from vibesmithing, Yurco’s contributions range from scintillating guitar licks on “180” to emotionally supportive synths on “More.”
Fullness and richness of sound and sentiment coalesce throughout the record. Brilliant harmonies, expressive drums, and guitars both chunky and wiry converge in a satisfying blend. The sound is significantly more rock than folk, yet flourishes of something earthy and mountainous flicker within tracks such as “180” and “Mrs G.”
“I’m not asking for forever / I don’t know what that means,” she sings on the latter track, which thrums along with a hearty suggestion of twang. Repeated for effect, the statement reveals contentment, as if any notions of excess have evaporated. Maybe they never existed.
The ultimate irony of Transience is that Smith conceived of, completed and released it within two and a half years of Silence Is Golden. Not exactly a slow mover this time around. It’s as though coming to terms with creativity’s ebbs and flows revealed something new.
Transience will be available on major streaming services on Thursday, May 1. Smith performs as part of the Waking Windows music festival on Saturday, May 3, at the Monkey House in Winooski.