Our long-time favorite duo Smith & Thell have announced they are pausing their cooperation and taking an indefinite hiatus in order to pursue other dreams. Before going their separate ways, they played a few live shows for the fans, and the last one of these dates brought them to Annexet in Stockholm.
Maria Jane Smith and Victor Thell have been making their trademark organic folk pop for something like a decade now. But it all started earlier than that, and the concert actually kicked off with a cute re-enactment of how Victor, 16, contacted Maria, 17, on MySpace offering his drum skills having heard Maria sing at an event.
Their songs and their stories during the almost two-hour concert took us through the various stages of their career and their relationship. Through all the ups and downs during what has been half of their lives, as friends, lovers, songwriting partners, bandmates. Singing about love and loss, about forgiving and letting go.
They served everything from their earlier songs like Cabin Out in Nowhere and Under the Moon (which was done in the acoustic arrangement that brought back memories from their post-pandemic live shows) to stand-out tunes like Goliath and the big breakthrough hit Forgive me Friend.
Things got seriously emotional, when they announced a song they haven’t really been playing live at their shows, Yatzy, about Maria’s sister, who lost her fight with cancer. Victor stepped in to give vocal support when Maria got struck by emotion, but she went on bravely. Looking around me, I saw some audience members wiping their tears.
The show went on with more favorites like Toast and Alice, as well as Hotel Walls during the encore. The last song of the evening was I Let the Good Ones Go, and with that, Maria and Victor let go of each other, and of their dear audience.
Maria already has solo material in the pipeline, and Victor will be heading to Los Angeles to concentrate on his songwriting and producing career. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours and look forward to seeing them play together again some day.
Did you attend the show or do you have some Smith & Thell memories of your own to share? Do comment…
All photos and text: Nina Uddin
