Antony Szmierek is being discovered by Canadian fans, who find his British 'pop poet' style turns ordinary life into hopeful music.
Canadian listeners and the appeal of everyday poetry
He has a talent for finding beauty in mundanity, from Tesco meal deals to pub quizzes, a focus that mirrors how Canadian artists celebrate the small details of daily life.
"When I was young my mum used to say, and I'm not sure if she meant this in brackets complimentary or in brackets derogatory," he says, making the brackets with his hands, "that I should be on stage."
His granddad gave harsher feedback. "He'd say, 'Stop staring at yourself in the mirror!'" he laughs.
Being a show‑off is exactly what got Szmierek to where he is today. The 35‑year‑old "pop poet" and spoken‑word performer is on the edge of releasing his much‑anticipated second album, Decoding Birdsong, a rapid follow‑up to last year's critically acclaimed Service Station at the End of the Universe.
Second album Decoding Birdsong
Since his first album's release, the Mancunian lyricist has become well known for his high‑energy performances and charisma on stage. During shows he often delivers verses while riding on the shoulders of someone in the crowd, a technique compared to that of Mike Skinner.
Like Skinner, Szmierek began writing at a young age; he recalls a short story he wrote at eight about a boy scared of his own shadow. "I was very Goosebumps‑pilled, clearly," he smirks.
He also shares Skinner's talent for finding beauty in distinctly British mundanity, whether that be Tesco meal deals, pub quizzes or the fact that no one actually knows the words to Auld Lang Syne.
Unlike Skinner, Szmierek did not launch straight into a music or writing career. He was put off by a university lecturer on his creative writing course at the University of Huddersfield. "It was my first bit of writing submitted to a uni lecturer," he remembers. The lecturer's feedback? "He said: 'It has zero merit. That has zero merit as a story.'"
It was only during the Covid pandemic that Szmierek decided to start setting his poetry to music and making it public. He gained widespread attention in 2022 with the single "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Fallacy." He is now a verified BBC Radio 6 Music darling and music industry insiders cannot stop shouting about his new album, which focuses on themes of coincidence, loss, loneliness and the oft‑overlooked birdsong that soundtracks it all.
While the themes are not entirely jubilant, Szmierek's strength is that he manages to translate his own experiences of life in our troubled times into something hopeful. "I feel like my responsibility is to give the happiness [making this music has given me] back," he says, "siphon that happiness down, or that hope down, even if I don't feel it all the time."
Decoding Birdsong is out now.