Stepping into a new year with a bow tied on 2024 — a year of incredible highs and literal whirlwind lows — music is the tried and true companion that ushers in hope with fuel to re-energize and revitalize.

And with perfect timing, Oh Smokey, the latest record from veteran alt-folk singer-songwriter Eef Barzelay, aka Clem Snide, has hit the shelves to be the ultimate sonic bobsled into the New Year.

Oh Smokey is Barzelay’s signature brand of melodic and melancholy genius, but this isn’t just a sad-boy strum fest. It’s a deeply human exploration of life’s messiest corners, where God, death, heartbreak and hope all bump shoulders and share a drink. If this album were a person, it’d be the guy at the party in the corner with the best stories — slightly tragic, endlessly fascinating and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny.

The album opens with “Free,” a rollicking acoustic thrum that announces its intentions with the command: “Call all the sunbeams.” This is no gloomy dirge. It’s a rallying cry, a reminder that even when you’re knee-deep in existential mud, there’s always light to chase. Swaths of electric guitar and a backup chorus seemingly plucked straight from Leonard Cohen’s imagination make this track soar.

The rest of the album balances tenderness with wit. Sure, Barzelay describes these as a dip into the emotional hot tub, but that’s only half the story.

Beneath the groove is a sly, mischievous hopefulness — a reminder that while life may be messy, uncertain and occasionally heartbreaking, there’s always room for sunbeams to break through the clouds.

So, here’s to 2025 — slow paces, tender hearts and the hope that lies just beyond.

– Chris Rucker