Skarlett Smith Explores Truth, Beauty and Vulnerability on New EP “LEYES”

Skarlett Smith is using her new EP “LEYES” to examine how identity, personal scars and emotional honesty can shape the way people see themselves and one another.

Skarlett Smith is entering a more reflective stage of her career with “LEYES,” a new EP released August 25 through Savant Soundz Records. Rather than building the project around a traditional romantic concept, Smith uses the record to explore perception and the hidden experiences that often sit beneath a person’s appearance. The title is pronounced “lies,” giving the project an immediate connection to the tension between what people show outwardly and what they carry privately.

The idea began with something Smith had heard throughout her life. People frequently complimented the color of her eyes, but as a teenager she started questioning whether their beauty really came from color alone. That curiosity eventually evolved into a much deeper belief about the things that make someone memorable. For Smith, beauty is connected to truth, vulnerability, personal history and the experiences that leave lasting marks on a person.

That perspective is captured in the phrase “The Truth Is Always Hiding In The LEYES,” which has become central to the project’s meaning. Smith describes the eyes less as a physical feature and more as a reflection of the experiences people cannot always put into words. “Maybe the beauty of the eyes was never really about their color,” she explains. “Maybe it was always about what they reveal through their scars.”

Skarlett Smith Explores Truth, Beauty and Vulnerability on New EP “LEYES”

The emotional focus of “LEYES” also fits the direction Smith has been moving in across her recent music. The Fort Collins, Colorado singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has continued developing a catalog that places emotional honesty at the center of her pop sound. Earlier releases including “Love Bomb,” “2077,” “Roar,” “Tell Me Now” and “Shut Up and Kiss Me” have allowed her to explore relationships, uncertainty, confidence and self-expression from different angles.

Smith has continued working alongside producer and Savant Soundz Records founder DeMario “Rio” Bridges, whose collaboration with the artist has helped shape her evolving sound. Smith plays multiple instruments, including guitar, piano, ukulele and percussion, and has spoken about treating musicianship and songwriting as parts of the same creative process. Her involvement has also expanded beyond the studio, with Smith recently stepping behind the camera and taking a more direct role in the visual production of the “Shut Up and Kiss Me” music video.

With “LEYES,” Smith brings those different sides of her artistry together around one of her most personal ideas yet. The project asks listeners to look beyond first impressions and consider the experiences, struggles and truths that help define a person beneath the surface. For Smith, the scars people carry are not simply reminders of what they have endured. They can also become part of what makes them worth understanding.

Skarlett Smith’s “LEYES” is out now.

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