"This is all far above the ordinary. The 6-member band are the chefs in a musical kitchen – each recipe conjured tastefully... A good time is guaranteed for all." - John Apice, Americana Highways 

"Jeremy Facknitz is, indeed, a major talent.  Packed with tunes that manage to sound both familiar and refreshingly new, Smilin’ at the Future is an excellent album – and, I can guarantee, like nothing you’ll have ever heard before." - John Barlass, At The Barrier

“…soulfully-hued, and wholly heartfelt, organic…” - Exclusive Magazine

"The record is something of a commentary on modern life, including our political dystopia, our successes and failures, and the age of doubt in which we live. We proceed clinging to our hopes and dreams for the future but with major doubts about whether they will actually be realized. It’s a message that will no doubt connect with listeners holding many of the same fears and reservations." - V13 Magazine

Jeremy Facknitz’s new album is titled Smilin’ At The Future, a caption from his high school graduation photo in the hometown newspaper. If the songs smile at the future, it’s not idealism but a need to transcend the struggle of the present and the wounds of the past. This is the sixth record by the two-time Kerrville Grassy Hill New Folk Songwriting Competition finalist, and it’s his strongest songwriting and most imaginative music yet. Facknitz describes his music as “indie rock with a made-for-the-theatre twist. I’m a singer-songwriter, but I’m not 3 chords and the truth - I’m 8 to 15 chords and poetic cynicism. Less like John Prine and Townes Van Zandt - more like Elvis Costello and Lin Manuel Miranda.”  

Surprisingly, these lively descriptors make sense. Like Costello and Miranda, Facknitz is a gifted storyteller open to finding new forms and new sounds. Writing about his album From These Sweet Ashes, Collin Estes writes that Facknitz’s “emphasis on song-craft is immediately apparent, and the album an artistic triumph.” Loring Wirbel writes “The next instantiation of Nick Lowe and other power-pop barons already exists, and From Those Sweet Ashes is his defining work to date.” Wirbel goes on to compare Facknitz’s music to Andrew Bird and John Darnielle.  

Through the ten songs on Smilin’ At The Future, you’ll hear a Van Halen-esque violin solo played through a distortion pedal, a bluesy, Dylan-tinged protest song, a song he describes as “Sinatra in the verse and Green Day in the chorus”, a song in 5/4, and, an intimate song for acoustic guitar and voice. There are also cameos by the lead singer of the United States Air Force Academy Band, Serenity Holloway, and singer-songwriter Edie Carey.  

Yet, the album never feels like a sampler platter because the songs converge so well. Owing much to producer Jarrod Headley’s unified vision, the ten tracks hold space for the current zeitgeist while presenting new facets of it. Take, for example, the country-tinged “As of This Morning,” a bittersweet look at relationships that didn’t survive the Covid lockdown. The upbeat tempo and soaring violin keep the song focused on the fact that this is a new beginning. As Facknitz explains, “This is pointless to carry on, so I'm pulling the plug, and yes it's sad but it's the right thing for both of us, and there's nothing better and nothing more loving I can do.”  

“There’s No Going Home Again” is a clear-eyed reckoning with how time affects a place—and the person viewing it. Inspired by the similarly-titled Thomas Wolfe novel, the song finds Facknitz returning to his home state of Michigan, assessing it and himself. Serenity Holloway, lead singer of the USAF Academy Band, adds soulful, elegiac vocals. With a backdrop of fierce fiddling, Facknitz evokes Richard Shindell’s voice throughout, singing "And if you think this town has changed too much for you, don't forget you've done some gentrifying too. You're a stranger coming in from out of state, with a suntan and new license plates."  

Facknitz turns historical on “Ste. Genevieve,” looking back on how a small Missouri river town held off a flood in 1993. In need of hope amidst wildfires and Covid, the songwriter found himself identifying with the underdog town. Like Ste. Genevieve, the song acknowledges the huge obstacles of the past but is more interested in celebrating resilience. “If she survived that cancer, if river towns can do this, perhaps we'll find some answers, and maybe we'll get through this,” the final pre-chorus asserts victoriously.  

While the songs on Smilin’ At The Future differ musically, the themes of the album are clear. Throughout the record, Facknitz enlists music to help him find hope while rationally acknowledging everything we’re up against. And if he doesn’t find hope that things can change, he turns inward and works toward acceptance. There are no cliches or platitudes here either; there’s just inspired songwriting and songs that carry it through.