Jonny Knowles – Smile EP 
Release Date: 29th January 2021
South East London based
singer-songwriter Jonny Knowles has certainly made me prick my ears up with his
forthcoming EP, ‘Smile’. The five track collection opens with ‘Fly Not Fall’
and we are introduced to Knowles’ raw, emotive vocals meandering through the
late morning air accompanied by skipping piano notes and birdsong through the
kitchen window. It’s a bold and arresting start to any collection but it is
also alarmingly good for one so young. Knowles follows this up with title
track, ‘Smile’, which has a slightly sinister edge for the first half before
busting out in to a slow alt-pop jam that tells you this is a guy with serious
production chops.
‘Everything I’m Not’ sounds like
an old recording of piano and guitar notes being tuned in to life but these are
strung together by Knowle’s effortlessly soulful vocal that leaves Ed Sheeran
gasping for air. On ‘Bad Habbits’ we are treated to our first real beat from
the get go and the Lily Allen meets Man Like Me vibes are infectious in the
best way possible. The EP closes out with ‘Me Time’, a track with loose energy
but a pumping beat and a bass line to die for. Jonny Knowles is certainly a
breath of fresh air and a unique talent but, more importantly, he’s not afraid
to do things his way which makes for engaging and intriguing music and that, my
friend, is what I came here for.