Handsome, humble and now … compellingly peculiar
‘Gerbil in the Wild’ finds Americana band out on the edge
When a new song by Handsome and the Humbles shows up in your inbox, you have certain expectations. When the band’s lead singer-songwriter Josh Smith recently sent a few friends tracks from the band’s new EP, though, all expectations were shattered.
Handsome and the Humbles – and Smith’s solo work – has tended to fall into the category of Americana. However, the new EP “Gerbil in the Wild” is electronic-based, lyrically limited and lovably confounding. The EP’s three songs (“The Wedding Song,” “Let Freedom Ring” and the title track) certainly show another side of the act.
“When I first did ‘Gerbil,’ I was thinking about the movie ‘Labyrinth’ and [the film’s star] David Bowie,” says Smith, in a call from Wightright, Texas, where he’s currently living. “At first, I thought I was making a spoof of ‘Labyrinth,’ but it does not sound like that at all. It’s just ridiculous.”
Smith, who is originally from Clinton, sent the track over to co-Humbles conspirator Josh Hutson, who still lives in East Tennessee.
“And he added a drum track that was even stupider,” says Smith.
Stupid or not, it’s catchy and oddly endearing. The next track the two worked on was “Let Freedom Ring,” That track came about while Smith was playing with some electronic drum beats and was listening to a podcast that included a segment on a nuclear reactor that was shut down 10 years after being deemed totally safe.
“I thought about how we trust the government – until we don’t!,” says Smith. “The people who like Donald Trump don’t trust the government, but they TOTALLY trust Donald Trump.”
Then there is “The Wedding Song,” the lyrics of which comprise a verse from Ezekiel in the Old Testament that describes the attributes a certain woman likes in her men. It’s the sort of thing Moms for Liberty and the like would be screaming to be taken out of schools were it not actually part of the Bible.
“Back when I was playing Christian music, I would sign things with that Bible verse [Ezekiel 23:20],” says Smith.
Smith says he believes that no one must have actually looked up that verse because he never got any questions about it.
All in all, Smith says he’s just having a little fun experimenting with this new project.
“One-hundred percent I’m just trying to have fun with music. I get frustrated with the part of music where I have to promote myself and get shows. Instead of worrying about that, we wanted to just have some fun. It was fun to send it to Josh and see what he did with it. It’s fun to make music with your friends. That’s the whole point of this, isn’t it?
The songs will be released on most streaming services, but YouTube might be the most entertaining way to experience them because Smith and Hutson have created videos to go along with the new release.
“I just thought, ‘What can I make with AI on Canva?’ It turns out that you can’t say, ‘Make a picture of a nun eating a cucumber.’ They’ll say, ‘That doesn’t fit with our policies.’ But if you say, ‘A robot nun throwing a kiss to a donkey in black and white,’ that works! That’s art!”
Smith says it has crossed his mind that some Handsome and the Humbles fans might be offended by the new release.
“If ‘Let Freedom Ring’ offends people, I’d be curious to know exactly what it is that offends them because I think there are conversations to be had. If ‘The Wedding Song’ offends them, then they can just throw that part of the Bible out with the other parts. Either way, they should lighten up!
“I’d love to be in the position to lose thousands of fans. Heck, I’d like to be in the position to lose DOZENS of fans!”
However, longtime fans need not worry: Smith and Hutson have a full album in the works that adheres more to what fans are used to. The album should be released sometime in 2024.
For the moment, though, Smith is anxious to get “Gerbil in the Wild” out to the public. And there may be more uncharacteristic releases in the future.
“We’ll probably do more stuff like these, but nothing immediate,” says Smith “It’s just so much fun. It’s not gonna be the main thing I do. It’s just nice to think about doing music that’s different. I’ll be happy if people like it, but I’m not worried about what people think about it.”
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