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Your Smith’s The Rub arrived just in time for fall, a.k.a. back to school season, a.k.a. Gilmore Girls season, a.k.a. the time to reinvent yourself! And boy does this album feel like a reinvention. It’s not just the music that makes the album feel refreshing, but the actual story behind it shows us how we should be listening to it. Back in 2020, Your Smith was nearly ready to give up music, as she shelved the songs she was writing and moved from L.A to Minneapolis. The Hannah Montana of it all seemed impossible – and by that I mean that reconciling a fast-paced music career with a slower, more normal family life, seemed difficult.

But here we are 5 years later ,and Your Smith has figured out a way to bring that ethos into the sound and soul of her album The Rub. Even the album’s name is a Shakesperean term for “an obstacle in the way of your dreams,” where sometimes it turns out that the obstacle is yourself; it seems Smith figured that out and decided to stop being that obstacle and pursue music on her own terms. She broke the endless pressure cycle of write-release-tour-repeat and instead opted for slowing down and writing what feels right in the moment. Co-produced by Jake Luppen and Nathan Stocker from Hippo Campus, this is the kind of album you’d listen to on a road trip across the mountains or when you’re moving to a new city. It feels hopeful, accessible and like a breath of fresh air. A fusion of 70’s soft-rock, country touches, indie synths and groovy guitars, the album creates a world where you feel light as a feather.

The album’s opening song “Change of Heart” is such a great opener and captures the soul of the album. The vocals feel stripped back and peaceful, but the backing guitars add a sense of spunkiness to the track. Another standout for me was “Peaches” – not the Bowser song – but the first track that Smith, Luppen and Stocker wrote. It is a song that is infected by some a country road feeling and speaks of admiring the world around you, making it a song that is set apart form the rest in this album.

In songs like “Telephone Line,” “Cristina,” and “Down The Line” we get more more jazzy and upbeat rhythms, whilst the guitar bridge at the end of “Mr. Revival” is sure to become an excellent dance break for anyone listening to the song. Other like, “Hey There’s My Girl” reminded me of “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles in certain moments. In songs like these Smith lets herself be more vulnerable and soft spoken, creating a feeling of tenderness.

When reading the story of how this album was engineered, I can help but think of the term “Golden Cage.” When you are in a situation that seems like a golden dream to everyone, including yourself, and it is something that you have been wanting you whole life – it is normal that you feel like you need to stay there. However, that doesn’t mean that the situation is perfect and even though you may have an urge to leave the situation, your ideals and the fact that this is the “dream” may stop you from doing so – thus creating a “golden cage.” I am just happy that Your Smith broke free from hers and came back with an album that feels like starting anew.

You can catch her on tour across the US this November.