Myth of the Heart

iTunes Review

This 21-year-old Texas singer/songwriter combines an almost angelic vocal purity with an obsessive lyric fascination with seduction, escape and unrequited need. Whether Smith is a pure-toned songbird or a fever-wracked poet, her overall excellence is made clear in these haunting tracks. Producer Emile Kelman (a T-Bone Burnett protégé) wraps the songs in loose skeins of atmosphere, enlisting such notables as guitarists Marc Ribot and Greg Leisz to create a sultry Southwestern ambiance. Smith commands the spotlight with a sometimes wistful, sometimes determined air, beckoning with brazen desire in “The Real Thing” and longing for elusive yesterdays in “Mermaid.” Her lyrics often achieve a surreal intensity, even when matched with gauzy, downcast melodies — songs like “Thousand Secrets,” “Tin Man Town” and “Train Man” make the listener see, feel and taste the small town world around her. “All I Need” and the title tune are relatively carefree in tone, though the dominant tone here is bittersweet.