New Music Friday can be a lot. That's why every week we cut it down to the songs you need to hear for PLAY, our new music edit, and deliver a new cover feature to go alongside it. This week... Nia Smith.
"There's been a lot of exploring," says British soul singer Nia Smith as she looks back on her rise over the last couple of years leading up to her new EP 'Payback Is A Dog'. The exploration has been literal in terms of travelling the world, playing shows and meeting new people, but also, importantly, emotionally and spiritually as she looked for new ways to write and different emotions to capture.
"I've grown a lot as a writer," she explains. "When I made my first EP 'Give Up The Fear' in 2024, I was like, these are songs that are cute demos that I love, and I can't wait for people to hear them. This is slightly more conceptual; everything is a lot more thought out, rather than just cute songs. Lyrically, I've grown in how I write, as it's not so surface-level and goes much deeper. Vocally, I've grown, and I'm more confident in how I want to sound in the studio, what I want to write about and how I want to say it."
'Payback Is A Dog' is the sound of an artist blossoming into exactly who they want to be. The songs here are confident and emotionally direct, the product of Nia becoming more perceptive as a writer and capable of harnessing her words to capture emotions from both her own experiences and those she observes in others. "I had a lot of friends around me who were going through situations, whether it was relationship issues or just life. People who were changing cities and outgrowing things," she says of some of the stories that are told on the EP. "I wanted a project that could speak to people in that way. All of those feelings are very universal and real. I wanted a project where people could hear themselves and relate."
That relatability comes from Nia's beautifully realised observations on love, relationships and the turmoil that we can go through. "Vibey songs are always fun to make, but I think it's so much nicer with emotional songs to really dig in deep and think about how you want to paint the picture," she says. 'High' is a song where the little details and clever observations in Nia's lyricism elevate it to a new level. Her voice is immaculate and strong as it soars and swoops, but the real heart-stopping power lies in the words as she delivers a hugely evocative metaphor: a stormy relationship compared to frayed jeans that are only just hanging on. "For me, as a short person, my jeans always scrape along the floor and get frayed quite quickly," she laughs. "Sometimes it's taste, though, and you want those frayed jeans. It's evoking a picture that can be taken many ways. You can work on it and stay with the frayed jeans, or you can leave and get a new pair of jeans. Both are fine and totally OK. I wanted to give both sides of the coin with that song."
'High' is a song that captures the transcendent feeling of joy and the desolation it can leave when that joy is missing from your life. "I don't smoke, but I know the feeling of being so excited and high about something and feeling on top of the world," says Nia. "I have friends who smoke, and they physically get high. I don't know what it's like to feel like that, but I do know how it is to feel high on life. I'm really proud of the songwriting on 'High'."
"Vibey songs are always fun to make but I think it’s so much nicer with emotional songs to really dig in deep"
— Nia Smith
As well as matters of the heart, there's anger mixed up in the EP's swirl of emotions. The EP title is a direct statement of intent. 'Payback Is A Dog' is inspired by the track with the same name by 70s soul legends The Stylistics, and the EP's opening track 'Payback' samples that Stylistics song. The anger expressed, though, is measured and assured. 'I know my worth' sings Nia on 'Hope In Us' as she channels her anger in a raw and vulnerable but ultimately triumphant way. "I'm a very sensitive person," she admits. "I feel things quicker than others do. It's a good thing that I can channel it through music. 'Hope In Us' was an interesting one to write. I wrote it at 2am when I was feeling a type of way. I had to go into the studio the next day when I was angry at this person and didn't really know what they were doing for me and how they were doing it. I was able to be open in the studio about how do we write in a way that's not too direct and too angry but gets the feeling and emotion out there."
There's an emotional distinctness and depth of feeling to this EP that highlights the freedom and room to grow and develop that Nia has enjoyed as the music industry has begun to move beyond looking for instant wins and to recognise the benefits of letting immensely talented artists develop their voices and how to express their art. "I feel like I've been waiting for this time," says Nia excitedly. "It's a great time for British voices. When I first started, there was a lot of teen success like Billie Eilish, and I thought oh if I don't get that, it's not working but now I see people like Raye and Olivia Dean, and that gives me so much comfort that it's OK if it doesn't happen straight away, as your time will always come."
With over a year between her previous EP and this release, Nia has taken her time to make 'Payback Is A Dog' her most fully realised and impressive work, but is already moving on to what's next. "I'm definitely not in the same place I was when I made this project," she says intriguingly. "I'm in a totally different headspace. I'm even working on my next era now."
"I'm not afraid of using my voice," says Nia as she hints towards what comes next. "Sometimes I've shied away from using that big vocal moment. I didn't use it that much on 'Payback Is A Dog', but I am definitely doing it on the next." The belting and the vocal dynamics might be coming next, but for now, 'Payback Is A Dog' has all the emotional power and resonance needed to make it a striking step forward for one of the UK's supreme new talents.
Nia Smith's EP 'Payback Is A Dog' is out now.
