Other Music - NYC Record Store
I'm psyched to be offering up this great release by local provocateur Smoota, best known as a sideman lending his formidable horn-playing talents to the likes of TV on the Radio, El-P, Sharon Jones, and countless others, but who steps out on his own for a killer album that combines the slinky DIY funk grooves of Shuggie Otis with the offbeat, trippy psychedelic stoner charm of James Pants, all topped off with a sly pervy streak that winks toward Serge Gainsbourg and the P-Funk mob. (Big props for the cover art's nod to Jean-Claude Vannier's L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches as well.) Made solely with bass guitar, Wurlitzer organ, trombone, a Maestro drum machine, and Smoota's voice, the twelve songs on Fetishes offer up a killer platter of smooth, laidback soul and funk that's slightly gritty at the edges; he's a skilled musician with the chops to pull this off, playing everything himself and singing every note, and his take on this sound offers riches that reward with multiple listens. It's definitely one of the year's most surprising records (it literally came to us from out of nowhere, self-released by the man himself), and if you dig soul sounds that keep one foot in the pocket with the other out to lunch, you'll definitely appreciate what Smoota's offering here. This one definitely gets top marks all around from me! - Mikey IQ Jones (November 13, 2013)
Time Out New York
Matt Spencer, owner Vin de Syrah, San Diego
Seven Days Vermont (Jordan adams) 1/16/19
Sex Sells
Rarely do I review live shows, but I just have to give a shout-out to New York City-based funkster Smoota. He put on one of the most memorable sets I've witnessed on a local stage recently. Last Thursday, January 10, at Nectar's in Burlington, the TV on the Radio trombonist dropped some seriously sexy and sex-positive tunes.
Largely pulling from his new album, Pheromones, the longhaired honey-dripper played choice cuts such as "40 Days 40 Nights," an ode to self-love; "Pheromones," a paean to chemical attraction; and "(I Don't Care If You're) Faking It," a curious tune about an oft-neglected topic: fake orgasms, and whether or not they're a bad thing. Spoiler alert: Fake orgasms have their own kind of worth, too, at least according to Smoota. It makes sense when you hear him explain it. Speaking of which...
What made the evening so special was the way he interacted with the small crowd. Before each song, he prepped his onlookers with brief, artful explanations of where he was coming from with regard to the next banger. Normally, I find it somewhat unnecessary to spoon-feed your intentions to your audience. But the way Smoota approached it was mesmerizing. It was like being at a musical sex seminar or, as Nectar's Carson Ehlert put it as we chatted in the back of the club, a sexy TED Talk.
Bulls Radio, University of Tampa
San Diego Reader 11/7/13
"Like a cross between Barry White and Barry Gibb, young Brooklynite Smoota plays lusty pop.... An excellent example of how the libido sounds.... You got to check out this cat’s spare yet groovy, uncomfortably honest yet funny fare."