Nate Smith left crowds stunned with his Sophomore country album “California Gold,” released in October. 4, 2024. Earlier this year smith received New Male Artist of the Year at the 59th Country Music Awards, primarily due to his debut album released on April 28, 2023.
After Smith’s debut country album, listeners were left starving for more, however, they would only have to wait a year for Smtih’s second album to come out. “California Gold,” is a breathtaking experience, filled with immersive heartfelt songs that amplify Smith’s talent and creativity as a singer/songwriter. Smith mainly experiments with themes of heartbreak, love, vulnerability, and authenticity in his al.
On Aug. 23, two months before the official release of the album pre-released his hit single “Fix What You Didn’t Break,” which now has 9.6 million Spotify streams. “Fix What You Didn’t Break,” is the quintessential song on the album because of its distinct country-rock drive and modern electronic beat. creating a powerful and unique song with the all-popular bro-country essence. The track is similar to the works of star country singers Morgan Wallen and Mitchell Tenpenny.
“Fix What You Didn’t Break” is a story of a man who suffered a ten-year-long heartbreak and was chained by his emotions, unable to move on until he met someone who gave him another chance at love.
“It wasn’t the mess that you made/ Could’ve left me just the way you found me/ But you came and put your wings around me.”
Smith sings with a vulnerable tone in this song this allows listeners to be immersed in the melancholy mood for themselves. His touching lyrics are induced with a masculine Northern Californian accent which is almost unbeknownst to the country music scene in Nashville consequently, adding an exotic appeal to Smith’s first song on the album. Additionally, Smith’s voice fits perfectly within the rock-inspired instrumentation of the song.
The 14th track on the album, “Bulletproof” is the catchy type of song that everybody at the concert knows the lyrics to. “Bulletproof” sounds as if Nickleback put their own twist on Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof.” The song is sung with grungy early 2000s angst and has lyrics that talk about a man who is failing to drink himself away.
“Ol’ heartbreak bottles up on that shelf/ But the burn don’t work and the buzz doesn’t work and the buzz doesn’t help.”
Smith’s final song for the album, “I Like It,” seems to be strategically placed because of its celebratory nature and leaves his audience with a good feeling. “I Like It” is an energetic country-pop song that displays the theme of living carefree and enjoying every moment. The main song credit belongs to Alesso, a Swedish artist who created an EDM atmosphere for Smith to sing his country lyrics over.
“I asked her if she wanted to dance/ she like/ yeah/ tomorrow’s gonna hurt/ baby.”
Smith exemplifies himself as a successful upcoming country star in his album “California Gold.” His unique country accent and catchy lyrics with vulnerable themes help Smith redefine the outlook of modern country music.
