Simmering modern rock that flows between brittle optimism and chilling realism: It's The Fray without the moping, Coldplay without the pedestal and Counting Crows without the lyrical crutch of weird girlfriends that spew a lot of nonsense.

14 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Modern Rock, ROCK: Acoustic



Details:
After a four-year absence from the Atlanta music scene, perennial frontman Stratford Smith returns to the fold with a sharply resonant debut solo album, One Day Older.

Best known as the energetic lead vocalist for the now defunct Atlanta bands Blue Condition and Maze of Days, Stratford Smith hung up the proverbial cleats in 2002 when successful strides in a 9-to-5 career took him away from Atlanta.

It was in early 2005, when Smith moved back to settle down, that Atlanta Producer Brandon Winslow interceded with an invitation to drop by the studio. âI knew he still had it,â says Winslow, an ex-bandmate of Smithâs from the Blue Condition days. âHe just needed an outlet for breaking out again.â

Winslow was right. Smith accepted the invitation and the recording session saw the minting of a new song (Pulse), and a new page turned. Though it was unknown at that time, Smithâs solo career had begun.