Eric Hirshberg – Second Hand Smoke (2024)
What is one commonality linking every individual in the world? It’s not money, it’s not demons – although most have plenty of the latter – it’s not a beautiful environment where you can live in absolute bliss. The thread is life. Regardless of your status, situation, health, or whatever… life is always there. Treacherous or carefree; Eden or Hell; a day in the sun or a ripple of a whirlpool, it all comes back to existence.
Alright, so who cares really? Actually, it’s one of the most interesting topics resonating with each individual in some way. Singer-songwriter Eric Hirshberg has “lived a lot of life before I had something to sing…so I have something to put into it…” His most release is the album Second Hand Smoke and, damn, it’s a tribute to existing. Oscillating between the heaviness of everything – toxic relationships, mental health issues, unsavoury conditions that leave you falling deeper into a mire of despair – and intense hope in a valley of light, Second Hand Smoke is the shedding of all the bad sh*t with a powerful lungful of fresh air.
Following the international acclaim of previous singles ‘The Most Beautiful Boy’, ‘Day One’ and ‘Unbroken’, all included in Second Hand Smoke, Hirshberg holds our hand and travels on a journey with personal narratives. Opening with ‘Good Morning’ (featuring Dave Koz), Hirshberg quickly defines himself as an old-school rocker with old-school blues guitar, twinkling drums, and piano fluttering beneath. For me, however, it is Koz’s iconic saxophone rounding off the song that makes it a perfect introduction to Hirshberg’s journey.
Each track on Second Hand Smoke is a new chapter of Hirshberg’s book; each line is like reading a diary entry given the raw intimacy dripping from every note and lyric. In ‘Half Way Home’ and ‘Everyone Believes’, there is a slow running of deep connection as Hirshberg navigates darker areas. However, ‘Unbroken’ and ‘It’s Hard To Be Human’ are as intimate and hard-hitting.
Interestingly, while the tracks have a vintage rock vibe with hints of blues, soul and folk-rock hinting toward painful despair, this is not their meaning. A theme of life’s challenges, toxicity, turmoil, desperation and tragedy runs through Second Hand Smoke but the clue is in the name. It’s all second-hand smoke from which Hirshberg takes a deep breath and shrugs everything off in revitalising relief… a phoenix from the ashes.
From the depths of ‘Day One’ and ‘Unbroken’ to the heightened cheerfulness of ‘I Love Not Drinking’, Hirshberg delves into life’s complexity with bold confidence. For me, it is Hirshberg’s vocals that make Second Hand Smoke a delicate exposition of life’s vulnerabilities, fragility, optimism, and empowerment – all reflecting life’s tragedies and triumphs.
Sincere, sentimental, reflective, genuine and brimming with originality, Second Hand Smoke is, in a word, phenomenal.
You can stream the album on your streaming platform of choice using this link: Eric Hirshberg – Second Hand Smoke
Find out more about Eric Hirshberg on his Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.
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