Born in Ashburton, New Zealand, Matthew Smith is a singer and songwriter. He moves between folk, country and rock with ease and prefers to not be tied to just one genre. On his own he performs with a softer acoustic approach but when his formidable band 'Deepwater Creek' join him, things get plugged in and turned up. He likes to show both sides of his music when he records, so his albums, EPs and singles will take the listener on a journey. This review from Graham Reid is a great insight into Matthews debut self titled Album. Former rock frontman (of the atmospheric and crunching Von Voin Strum), Matthew Smith here (mostly) gets the knobs turned down and – with a small band, some important and sympathetic colleagues including co-producer and mixer Ben Edwards in the Sitting Room, mastering by Chris Chetland – initially brings an unexpected and intimate low-lights indie.folk voice to the fore on memorable songs coloured by his own pedal steel. But there's also a shadowland quality to many of these songs (Hog Tied early up) and as the album progresses the darkness and unease descend. Smith's is a world of lies, where nightmares become the daydream, allusions to death and despair, cracks . . .