Starfire

by Caitlyn Smith

Overview

Prior to releasing her major-label debut, Starfire, in early 2018, Caitlyn Smith built up an impressive resume as a professional songwriter, penning hits for Cassadee Pope ("Wasting All These Tears") and Meghan Trainor & John Legend ("Like I'm Gonna Lose You"). Those two examples suggest the Nashville-based songwriter isn't strictly country, yet Smith is rooted in country, as evidenced by her songs being cut by Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, and Lady Antebellum. Still, Starfire doesn't precisely feel like a country album, existing somewhere between the melodramatic country-pop of Carrie Underwood, the soft sway of Lady Antebellum, and the refined mainstream pop of Sheryl Crow. Starfire might be a little hard to peg, but that's also its charm: it's the rare kind of singer/songwriter album where the exquisitely sculpted songs are given big, lavish arrangements that swing for the fences. As a singer, Smith is more than capable of navigating these sweeping strings, but she also feels equally at home in more intimate settings such as the album centerpiece "This Town Is Killing Me" and the throwback "Tacoma." If it's hard to place what format is best suited for Starfire, it's also true that it's refreshing to hear a singer/songwriter album with a bold personality that by no means sounds like a demo tape. These are fully realized versions of Smith's repertoire, and if Starfire doesn't click commercially, at least it stands as a testament to all that this fine songwriter can do as a performer. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	04/21/2018
Label:	Monument Records / Sony Music
UPC:	0190758278414
Rank:	118082

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Before You Called Me Baby
2. Do You Think About Me
3. Starfire
4. East Side Restaurant
5. Don't Give Up on My Love
6. This Town Is Killing Me
7. St. Paul
8. Tacoma

Disc 2

9. Scenes from a Corner Booth at Closing Time on a Tuesday
10. Contact High
11. House of Cards
12. Cheap Date
13. If I Didn't Love You
14. Breakfast in the Afternoon

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Caitlyn Smith   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background),Guitar (Tenor),Guitar (Electric)
Paul Moak   Organ,Pipe Organ,Piano (Upright),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Hi String Guitar (Acoustic)
Eleonore Denig   Violin
Cara Fox   Cello
Kevin Whitsett   Bass,Bass (Upright),Vocals (Background)
Bobby Chase   Viola
Benjamin Kaufman   Violin
Sarah Buxton   Vocals (Background)
Tyler Burkum   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Gordie Sampson   Piano
Jason Eskridge   Vocals (Background)
Ian Fitchuk   Drums,Organ,Congas,Wurlitzer,Percussion,Piano (Upright),Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Steven Lee Olsen   Composer
Jeremy Lardani   Composer
Becky Fluke   Photography
Katie McCartney   Art Direction
Devin Vaughan   Mixing,Engineer
Rollie Gaalswyk   Composer
Jonathan Green   Composer
Zack Zinck   Assistant
Brendan St. Gelais   Assistant
Matthew Berinato   Package Design
Sarah Johnson   Production Assistant
Michael Brauer   Mixing
Sarah Buxton   Composer
Kate York   Composer
Aimee Mayo   Composer
Bob DiPiero   Composer
Gordie Sampson   Composer
Paul Moak   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Caitlyn Smith   Composer
Troy Verges   Composer
Blair Daly   Composer
Brad Blackwood   Mastering
Matt Jenkins   Composer
Luke Dick   Composer