Jonah Smith plays tonight at Neumo’s opening for Marc Broussard. His debut self-titled album reveals him to be a hybrid of sorts: at times ambient or at others, soulful of the blue-eyed kind. Lyrically, Smith comes across as one of those supersensitive guys, and is definitely trying to do some interesting things. Here’s an particularly standout line:

“Just another song in a sea of songs/ But they’re not lost/ And you’ve paid a heavy cost/ Just to be who you are” 

On the record, Smith’s voice sometimes gets lost underneath the fullness of the band. A live performance may be just the chance to really hear him belt it out. The music is generally of an acoustic rock flavor, and should be well matched to the Broussard-loving crowd. Seattle’s own Bill Frisell appears on the album. For those of you who who are attending the show, be sure to make it there early enough to check out this newbie. And for people with nothing to do tonight, perhaps this will give you some motivation to make an extended weekend journey.

www.jonahsmith.com