Premiere: Lara Smiles new video for Oh How, see it first in celebration of World Kindness Day

Lara Smiles has just released a new video for her poetic, simmering single Oh How. The track, featured on her debut album All for You, was co-produced and mixed by Jamie Grashion (The Orb, Black Grape, Killing Joke).

Echoing the ghost of Jeff Buckley, this three-minute psych-folk single is a tantalising reflection on life and transformation. Opening with a smattering of crystalline chords and a glistening array of percussive effects, the number is fused with a serene tranquility and a call for a kinder world: “Let go of pain, let go of pain”, echo the lyrics. “Empathy brings evolution and maybe a revolution”.

“Oh How is like a calming mantra for me, it was written to calm myself and the listener from any anxieties due to the difficult times we face”, Lara Smiles comments. The artist’s trademark song-writing skills and striking vocal virtuosity are brought to the fore as she zones out to another realm, surrounded by flickering candlelight and accompanied by ghostly, bewildering atmospherics. Her diva-style vocals are brought to a whisper, otherworldly and transcendent.    

Lara Smiles herself is swiftly becoming known as a master of sonic trades from rock, electro, soul, dance and punk to industrial and psych-folk sounds. Her 2019 debut album All For You embraced the whole pop platter, garnering the singer extensive worldwide airplay, including time on BBC Introducing and XFM, and reviews on The Guardian (“her spikiest confection to date”) and NME (“an industro-pop alchemist”). This is only the start. In the meantime, the artist has guested on Shed Seven’s 2018 album Instant Pleasures and Jah Wobble’s recent Acid Punk Apocalypse, and slots at Glastonbury (her fifth appearance) and Eldorado festival are on the horizon. And of course, Lara is currently busy crafting new songs into a second record, with the help of Kasabian’s drummer Ian Matthews. 

The editorial unit
Photo: Hannah Smiles