MUSIC REVIEWS, MENTIONS, MISC
Band Blurb
“Bleeder is a sizzling debut.”
The album “makes its marks as one of the smartest collection of songwriting released in the last decade.”
Indie Music Reviews
It is “a recording that sparkles with genuine substance and moments of pure poetry.”
“Bleeder’s nine songs are a reminder in dark times of music’s transcendental power.”
Gashouse Radio
“This is one of the year’s best albums–from anyone.”
“Shelby Smoak’s songwriting, musicianship, and lyrics stand out in a crowded field of talent.”
Skope Mag
“This is a powerful rock and roll album with stylistic range and tremendous intelligence.”
Vents Magazine
“…each of the best songs on Bleeder has an individual quality yet an unity of artistic excellence.”
Music of the Future (Interview)
New Millennium Music (Album and Video Feature)
Rock Era (“Sideways” Single review)
Enter the Venture (“If You” video review)
BLEEDER: A MEMOIR
Press Release
“Shelby Smoak’s writing is penetrated with pain and loneliness that came into his life after contracting HIV from a blood transfusion. His hemophilia courses through his writing as a theme the way blood courses through veins. … [Bleeder is] a coming-of-age story that reminds us that growing up is part what happens to you and part what you decide to do with those circumstances.”
–Hannah Oliver, Politics & Prose bookstore