While many think Country music fans aren’t too welcoming to rock or pop artists crossing over to their genre, that’s a perception more than a reality. At least it is for artists who are genuine in their appreciation for Country Music. From Kenny Rogers, Conway Twitty, and Ray Charles to Aaron Lewis, Sheryl Crow and Darius Rucker, Country has welcomed those art its that take the genre seriously and now they’re certainly getting an interesting artist in Dallas Smith, a man whose music is definitely not ‘twangy’ but it’s also definitely country, as his new Tippin’ Point EP released through Big Loud Mountain/Republic Nashville showcases.
Smith, who has fronted the band Default since 1999, hails from Canada and has worked with his production partner Joey Moi since the beginning of both of their careers and they both also made the move to Nashville and Country music at the same time, with Smith releasing Jumped Right In in 2012 in Canada and watching the album become one of the best-selling, most played albums in all of Canada in 2012/2013. In the fall of 2013 Smith signed with Big Loud Mountain and, later, Republic Nashville after scoring some early success with “Tippin’ Point” via SiriusXM’s “The Highway.” The song is such an infectious tune that it screamed radio hit from the moment it was released. The chorus is perhaps one of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard the past couple of years and even folks who may not like the tune will be humming the track and singing the chorus.
As good as the title track is, it’s the other tracks on Tippin’ Point EP that suggest that Dallas Smith has the ability to be one of Country music’s latest crossover stars. He’s serious about it and the music has a lyrical edge to it. “Slow Rollin’” and “Wrong About That” showcase Smith’s passionate take on Country music and of course, like the chorus in “Slow Rollin’,” he’s putting a new spin on Mainstream country music in 2014. Vocally, he’s got an interesting and unique sound that is different than anyone in Country music and there’s more range in his voice than people may have expected from a ‘rock star’ from the ‘post-grunge’ era. There’s really not a song on the Tippin Point EP that couldn’t work on radio and combined with Joey Moi’s strong production (which sounds really good on studio headphones), these songs are a strong presentation of Dallas Smith as a solo artist ready to break out as the next Country music star.
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