Your Man Alex Smith – Empty Chair (Album Review)

Today, we shall explore the intriguing and multifaceted world of Your Man Alex Smith, a Brisbane Pop-Rock sensation with his newest release titled ‘Empty Chair’.

Empty Chair is an album that holds its story and basis on Alex’s lived experience with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), unfolding by telling the story from his diagnosis to his treatment. The album is only an extension of his genre-hopping habit, intending to open with an epic, sensational instrumental track, before switching between hip-hop, musical theatre, pop-rock and everything and anything in-between. Usually, musical acts with this amount of multivariable aspects tend to be extremely exciting and non-conforming, leading to a listening experience that will definitely stick with you. The album also features a choir, multiple session musicians and even The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.

Alex has also been quietly brewing this album, as it has been in the works since 2020. It is launching alongside an accompanying stage show of the same name, co-produced by the Phoenix Ensemble on March 14th.

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Honestly, listening to this album, I completely understand why it is launching with a stage show to complement it. The album generally has the tone of a Broadway production, not necessarily in the way one would think of. It is not predictably dramatic, but it has a way of completely sucking you into the individual stories within each song. Some of the songs bear a symphonic quality, some bear a more pop-rock approach, but one thing remains consistent: Alex Smith and the other musicians’ unwavering desire to produce the best piece of art they could with each composition.

It oozes dynamics, all within a bed of competent mastering and excellent sound quality. At times it can even be whimsical in its composition, with certain quirks and the way the vocalist delivers his words. Even though it is quirky, it still has an authentic, non-commercial feel about it. The stories are delivered straight from the pain of existence, and a lucid mind to comprehend all of this.

I really have to commend the use of multiple genres within a singular song, and an unconventional use of song structure formats. It definitely helps to take us away from the monotony of life in general, and helps us to understand the situation behind the body of work itself- it’s autobiographical, but also as if it were a virtual reality in an auditory format. It’s extremely engaging.

These aren’t just songs sandwiched within this release, it’s little pockets of storylines with the visual imagery peeking out at you at every listen. Some bear an orchestral motif, some have the banjo playing to elucidate the sheer wackiness of the situation. Either way, I don’t think words could be strong enough to adequately describe the vivid imagery tucked into each composition.

I think this album is definitely worth a listen. It’s well-mastered to the point of musical universality, a metric that quantifies ‘how likely a person is going to connect with your music regardless of their own personal genre biases’, and I do think the stories and execution will resonate with almost everyone, even if they are unaware that they’d potentially connect with it. In everyone’s struggle, is a reflection that shines upon our own mirror, and it’s up to us to acknowledge it.

Score/Outstanding: ‘Empty Chair’ is a wonderfully delightful and dynamic journey into an auditory interpretation of the artist’s journey with BPD. It is well-mastered, and presents itself almost like a score to a film that engages audiences without losing anyone in particular. It contains a little bit of everything for everyone, and has enough spontaneous energy to spark almost every emotion within you. I think this gives it an extremely fascinating quality.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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