Goldmyth

{{Infobox musical artist | name = Goldmyth | image = | image_upright = | image_size = | landscape =  | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Jenessa Smith | alias = | birth_date =  | birth_place = | origin = Utah | death_date =  | death_place = | genre = electropop,<ref name=paste/> indie pop,<ref name=hbo/> lo-fi<ref name=wthb/> | occupation = | instrument = harp, singing | years_active =  | label = | associated_acts = Overcoats, Hazel English, Verite, Bat For Lashes<ref name=paste/> Clario, girl in red, Beabadoobee<ref name=is/> | website = {{URL|https://goldmythmusic.com/}} }}

'''Goldmyth''' is the stage name for Jenessa Smith, a harpist and songwriter who performs indie pop in Provo, Utah. She learned to play the harp as a teenager, and is influenced by indie rock. Critics praised her ethereal and melancholy harp sounds in her tightly produced indie-pop songs from her EP ''Faded Dream'' (2017). Her single "My Mistake" had a similar reception. "Lover's Letdown" was featured in the pilot episode of the HBO series ''The Sex Lives of College Girls''.

==Background and influences== Smith took harp and piano lessons as a child. As a teenager, she listened to indie rock.<ref name=cityw>{{cite news |last1=Sheehan |first1=Gavin |title=Goldmyth |url=https://www.cityweekly.net/BuzzBlog/archives/2017/05/23/goldmyth |access-date=25 February 2022 |work=Salt Lake City Weekly |date=23 May 2017 |language=en}}</ref> Her influences are Joni Mitchell, James Blake, Sufjan Stevens.<ref name=paste/> and Death Cab for Cutie.<ref name=wthb>{{cite web |title=Inspired #147 - Goldmyth |url=https://whenthehornblows.com/content/2020/7/16/inspired-147-goldmyth |website=When The Horn Blows |access-date=7 March 2022}}</ref> Nate Pyfer and Mason Porter co-produced her EP ''Faded Dream''.<ref name=paste/> Pyfer previously produced for Kaskade and The Moth & The Flame, while Porter has produced for Haarlem and Polytype.<ref name=ll>{{cite web |title=Listen: Goldmyth - "Lover's Letdown" |url=https://www.obscuresound.com/2017/03/goldmyth-lovers-letdown/ |website=www.obscuresound.com |publisher=Obscure Sound |access-date=7 March 2022 |date=27 March 2017}}</ref> Smith said that Robbie Connolly was helpful in getting her solo project off the ground.<ref name=cityw/> Smith writes her songs using a harp and a looper in Provo, Utah.<ref name=cityw/><ref name=mistake/>

==Critical reception== At ''Cover Me'', Ben Easton praised Smith's music, describing it as "washed-out and blissful, filled with malaise yet still musically vivid."<ref name=cm/> ''HillyBilly'' praised Smith's ''Faded Dream'' (2017) EP for showing "undisputed skill in crafting tight, concise indie-pop compositions."<ref name=paste>{{cite news |title=Goldmyth Albums :: NoiseTrade :: Paste Magazine |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/noisetrade/music/goldmythmusic |access-date=25 February 2022 |work=www.pastemagazine.com}}</ref> ''Paste'' magazine described her vocals as "otherworldly" in songs with "vulnerable lyrics."<ref name=paste/> ''Birch Street Radio'' reviewed Smith's debut EP, ''Faded Dream'', describing her music as a blend of her "delicate" voice with "harp [and] layers of synth and percussion."<ref>{{cite news |title=From Toronto to Melbourne, our latest music picks |url=https://www.birchstreetradio.com/2017/07/from-toronto-to-melbourne-our-latest.html |access-date=7 March 2022 |work=Birch Street Radio}}</ref> ''Obscure Sound'' described "Lover's Letdown" as alternating between rhythmically sparse and lush and "infused with glistening harp sounds".<ref name=ll/>

Her single "My Mistake" has a "melancholic pop sound" and "lush vocals" in a song with "excellent production and songwriting," according to indie music review site ''Obscure Sound''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mineo |first1=Mike |title=Listen: Goldmyth - "My Mistake" |url=https://www.obscuresound.com/2020/07/goldmyth-my-mistake/ |website=www.obscuresound.com |publisher=Obscure Sound |access-date=7 March 2022 |date=10 July 2020}}</ref> ''Birch Street Radio'' included the song in their July 2020 roundup and noticed that the harp took center stage.<ref name=mistake>{{cite web |title=From Toronto to Melbourne, our latest music picks |url=https://www.birchstreetradio.com/2017/07/from-toronto-to-melbourne-our-latest.html |publisher=Birch Street Radio |access-date=7 March 2022}}</ref> ''Indie Shuffle'' also liked the harp's unique role in the song, writing that it created an "organically magical sound."<ref name=is>{{cite web |title=Goldmyth - My Mistake |url=https://www.indieshuffle.com/goldmyth-my-mistake/ |website=Indie Shuffle |access-date=7 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref> ''At Cost Magazine'' liked the song's "quiet pensiveness" and its "ephemeral fade".<ref>{{cite news |title=Goldmyth - My Mistake |url=https://atcostmag.tumblr.com/post/625489624910987264/goldmyth-my-mistake |work=at cost magazine}}</ref> Smith wrote the song after reflecting on her mistakes, or lack thereof, after a long-term relationship ended and she moved to LA.<ref name=wthb/>

Smith said that when she first heard Gorillaz's "Melancholy Hill", she felt a kinship with a song that led her to cover it.<ref name=cm>{{cite news |last1=Easton |first1=Ben |title=Harpist Goldmyth Ventures Up "On Melancholy Hill" with New Gorillaz Cover |url=https://www.covermesongs.com/2022/02/goldmyth-on-melancholy-hill-gorillaz.html |access-date=7 March 2022 |work=Cover Me |date=14 February 2022}}</ref> Smith's song, "Lover's Letdown", was featured in the first episode of the HBO series ''The Sex Lives of College Girls''.<ref name=hbo>{{cite news |last1=Collier |first1=Zach |title=Goldmyth Hits HBO Max |url=https://provomusicmagazine.com/2021/11/29/goldmyth-hits-hbo-max/ |access-date=25 February 2022 |work=Provo Music Magazine |date=29 November 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://goldmythmusic.com/ Official site]

Category:Living people Category:People from Provo, Utah Category:Songwriters from Utah Category:Electronic music singers Category:Year of birth missing (living people)