David Smalt’s “Grand Theft Cosmos” is a neo-folk masterpiece

David Smalt’s vocal timbre alone is so enchanting, with a stunning mixture of grit and tenderness, that I had a hard time paying attention to the words he was actually singing the first time listening to "Grand Theft Cosmos." Then I listened again, and still found myself entranced by Smalt’s voice. He could sing the phonebook and it would sound good. Without giving too much away about the song (you should really just listen), the lyric "Since you stopped by, star-bright / I am frozen sunshine" absolutely took the air out of my body. Though it’s hard to pinpoint where exactly the sound of "Grand Theft Cosmos" evolved from, it’s reminiscent of Bon Iver, Bob Dylan and James Taylor- there’s a great guitar line, a sweet piano thrown in toward the end, simple percussion. David Smalt’s new record Fragile Magick is out 9/7. I can’t wait. –Geena Kloeppel