For most of us, it takes fleeting moments of self-awareness to admit that we often carry around with us some form of emotional armour as protection from friends, family, coworkers, or just strangers on the street.
For her debut single as a solo artist, Danika Smith leans into this feeling with powerfully honest vulnerability on her track “Suit of Armour.” In the soulful, meditative song, which has a new video directed by Eric Sayaman, the Melbourne native grapples with the collision of love and fear as she seeks the power to persevere through self-imposed restraints.
“Suit of Armour” may be Smith’s debut as a solo artist, but the song reflects an artist with a captivating confidence both in her writing and delivery. With production help from Grammy-nominated engineer Nick Herrera, Smith is joined by Maria Moles on drums and Paul Bender of Hiatus Kaiyote on bass to deliver gently swirling instrumentals that provide a fittingly engrossing musical backdrop for her contemplative lyrics.
The video offers a subtly amusing, literal interpretation of the song that gives the project some levity along with its melancholic themes. The combination of stellar musicianship, impeccable taste, and emotional honesty on “Suit of Armour” shows that Danika Smith is an artist to watch moving forward.