Harrison Smith is twenty-one years old, and in the three short minutes of “My New Necklace,” he sings in nearly as many voices. There’s the bored scenester who monotones the opening lines.The crooner who purrs out the title phrase. The out-of-his-range karaoke singer struggling to hit the highs in “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” And so on.
Smith, who performs under the name Turtlenecked, blankets these voices across nearly as many movements—he shifts between stoned post-punk, Pixies rave-ups, and twinkling revivalist emo at ease, flicking through styles as if they’re pictures in a phone, various ways of looking at the same thing. Like Tony Molina before him, he’s so rich in melody that he can afford to treat tunefulness as a disposable good, and on “My New Necklace” he runs through an EP’s worth of hooks.
This maniacal approach—part serious punk, part sweet child annoyed by his innocence—comes through in the video, too, which we’re premiering today. In it, a barechested Smith draped in leather jacket and sunk into a pair of burgundy underwear leans into his reflection in a distant mirror that’s perched in a yard. He dances, he drinks, he goes in and out of frame—he gives you fifteen looks, none of them definitive in themselves, all of them definitive in the cumulative. Check it out below, as well as a grip of tour dates with Cool American.
Turtlenecked tour dates
6/15 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
6/16 – Seattle, WA – Black Lodge
6/17 – Missoula, MT – ZACC
6/20 – Chicago, IL – Subterranean Downstairs
6/22 – Cleveland, OH – Mahall’s
6/24 – Philadelphia, PA – The Hilton
6/25 – Brooklyn, NY – Alphaville
6/27 – Boston, MA – Middle East Upstairs
6/28 – Hamden, CT – Best Video
6/29 – Washington, DC – Comet Ping Pong
6/30 – Baltimore, MD – Joe Squared
7/1 – Columbus, OH – House show
7/2 – Bloomington, IN – The Bishop
7/3 – St. Louis, MO – The FOAM
7/6 – Salt Lake City – Diabolical Records
7/8 – Oakland, CA – The Hole
7/10 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord
7/11 – Arcata, CA – Outer Space
7/12 – Bend, OR – Volcanic Pub
Turtlenecked’s Vulture is out 6/15 via Good Cheer.
