Mally Smith is a singer-songwriter from Boston, now living in Edinburgh. Mally’s childhood love of the melancholy ballads of the British Isles and the poetic, political songs of the American folk-revival fuel her thoughtful and beautifully honest songwriting. Reminiscent of Anais Mitchell, Shawn Colvin and a young Joni Mitchell, Mally combines tasteful guitar and poetic lyrics with a clear voice that will capture your heart.
New releases
Recorded in Spring 2023 by Mally, Evan Hamilton and Mike McKenzie, The Dark is an evolution of the sound the three musicians created for Mally’s last full length album, Free. The song evokes a soft spaciousness in its production and invites the listener on a slow, meditative journey that expands underfoot into the full magic and possibility of darkness and shadow.
I wrote The Dark during a time when I was struggling with depression. The song is my attempt to make sense of darkness as an essential part of who I am; it is an invitation to hold the darkness with an open palm, to allow it to exist within me without trying to change, crush or ignore it; and it is a reaching outward towards others, a reminder that I am not alone. I can’t wait to share it with you.
-mally
Free | Album
released August 4, 2021
Every Rose | EP
released July 3, 2020
Sentinels | EP
released June 5, 2020
Music Videos & Live Performances
ELECTRONIC Press kit
Short Bio
Mally Smith is a singer-songwriter from Boston, now living in Scotland. Mally’s childhood love of the melancholy ballads of the British Isles and the political songs of the American folk-revival fuel her thoughtful and beautifully honest songwriting. Reminiscent of Shawn Colvin, Aoife O’Donovan, and a young Joni Mitchell, Mally combines tasteful guitar and poetic lyrics with a clear voice that will capture your heart.
Her latest single, The Dark, comes out on Friday November 3, 2023.
Mark Simos, Professor of Songwriting at Berklee College of Music says this about Mally’s writing: “I rarely hear writing from younger writers with that spare elegance I associate with great traditional music - any extraneous note or word burned away by time and attention.”
Performance Options
Solo Singer/Songwriter
Small Acoustic Band
Full Band
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For press and all other queries, please contact:
mallysmithmusic@gmail.com
Full Bio
Born and raised outside Boston, Massachusetts, Mally Smith grew up singing alongside her folkie father. Through him, Mally cultivated a deep love for the melancholy ballads of the British Isles and the poetic, political songs of the American folk-revival. As a teenager, Mally was introduced to the world of modern singer-songwriters through former babysitter-turn-mentor, Edie Carey. Mally’s love of the singer-songwriter world deepened when her father sent her off to her second year of university with an old nylon string guitar.
Mally spent her first years on the guitar learning songs by idols like Patty Griffin, Lori McKenna and Edie Carey. In 2008, while living in Ireland, she fell in love with songwriting. Since then, Mally has blossomed into a thoughtful and beautifully honest songwriter.
After 5 years of music-making with Boston-based band, The And Company, Mally released her first solo album, Mally Smith & The Fertile Void in 2013. In 2014, she joined forces with powerhouse Boston artist, Ruby Rose Fox, as a part of Fox’s all-female back-up choir, The Steinems. In 2016 Mally returned to her solo career with an ambitious triple EP release, And I Glow. Following the successful launch of her sophomore recording, Mally collaborated with some of Boston’s best musicians to release an EP in the spring of 2018 called NEON.
Now based in Edinburgh, Mally is bringing her songs to new ears. She released her fourth studio album, Free in 2021 and her latest single, The Dark, is set to come out on Friday November 3, 2023.
Mark Simos, Professor of Songwriting at Berklee College of Music says this about Mally’s songwriting:
“I rarely hear writing from younger writers with that spare elegance I associate with great traditional music – any extraneous note or word burned away by time and attention. This is perfectly formed – lyrics that are both metaphorical and straightforward, weaving melodies that move with the deliberation of thoughtful paintbrush strokes, a restrained atmospheric production that leaves everything translucent and layered for the ear to soak in. The song describes, and invites, a kind of listening and attention, the world sorely needs right now.”
Reminiscent of Shawn Colvin or a young Joni Mitchell, this new album combines tasteful guitar and poetic lyrics with a clear voice that will capture your heart.
Official Music Video
Live Performance