Rhonette Smith May Be ‘Bent’ But Not Broken
Last year, Sayreville singer-songwriter Rhonette Smith released her first single since 2020. “Exhale” was in honor of World Mental Health Day. (See our 10/10/24 news item). On her new single, “Bent,” which The Jersey Sound is proud to present as a World Premiere here now, she bites your head off. It’s a full-blown metal cacophony of the highest order. So we just had to ask her about it.
“`Bent’ is an ode to the non-linear nature of progress,” she answers, “and how it sometimes feels like pushing against a brick wall. I recorded the song with producer Steve Keller from The Burn Room and he helped me bring it to life. It’s the first of my tracks to include heavier guitars and features screaming vocals from nondasson of rap/rock band Saints In Exile.”
Smith has suffered from mental health issues since she was a kid, “and I’m always working on myself in some way,” she admits. “A lot of the time, it feels impossible to keep pushing myself to make progress when it feels like nothing has changed even when I'm trying so hard. `Bent’ is all about that. The only way to really find if you'll actually be successful or make progress is to push yourself and try in the first place. And that's not to say that effort is easy because it's not, but it's the only way."
Get ready for your walls to shake, your neighbors to complain, but your soul to be satisfied when you listen to “Bent.’