The big city life can feel daunting at first. It’s a transition people often undergo: a better life, career, or a new beginning altogether.
On Big city life, Smerz condenses that experience, making the big city feel like a small town; where a new friend group feels like that same, familiar dimly lit bar where everyone knows each other.
Smerz is a Norwegian duo made up of Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt. Big city life is an album that oozes bedroom pop: with stock plugs-ins, drum machines, and free synths you could probably download online. But it’s not rudimentary – whilst seemingly simple, all aspects compliment each other with a slicing clarity. Not overproduced, and thus providing a grounding listening experience; transparent to the point where each part of the track can be picked apart and observed.
Sonically, Big city life also sets the tone of its namesake. ‘But I do’ is filled with clanging metallic samples that feel like the endless construction sites infecting each corner of any city. The title track features the sound of a constant beep, mimicking the sound of the walk button on any major cities crossing.
Melancholic is a heavy feeling that guides the lyrical performance of the album. ‘You got time and I got money’ is like the soundtrack of a kindled romance, born out of two people meeting in a bar, both drunk and dancing in the corner, only to never see each other again the day after. Only possible in the big city, of course.
Words by Rafael Enriquez