a collection of infectious uptempo rockers. The result is an album with the power to establish Shmitt as an important American rock-n-roll artist... a stylish storyteller with a singular voice.

Indeed, Shmitt’s rich, unpushed baritone vocals married with his insightful and self-exposing lyrics make his music resonate as a very personal statement. Whether joyful, passion-filled, angst-ridden or naughty, his songs, he admits, are slightly twisted autobiographical accounts of his life events. Yet Shmitt’s unique viewfinder on the world is not alienating. He seamlessly shifts moods, letting us in, song by song. Painting pictures with his words and melodies that are both skewed and familiar, Shmitt lures his listener into his turbulent world. He has a refreshing writing style that blends honest directness with subtle poetry. His lyrics, melodies and back beat groove create sure-handed pop hooks without trying too hard, which make his tunes deliciously memorable. Shmitt’s listener understands and feels what the song is about -- rare these days -- making this album infinitely listenable.

As the producer on Dog Steal The Moon, Shmitt assembled a team of talented musicians, many who accompanied him on the first album, to flesh out his production. It is no doubt that Shmitt would be considered “a musician’s musician” among his colleagues, as he clearly has the ability as a producer to elicit the performance he envisions without obscuring the unique sound an artist unencumbered brings to his work. Shmitt has also reinforced his capacity for “sonic thinking,” evident on the first album. On Dog Steal The Moon, Shmitt expertly arranges and layers sound, while carefully injecting unusual instrumentation (i.e., short wave radio and digeridoo) and unexpected choices (check out the unique way he plays his National steel guitar). He seems to make as many intelligent choices in the mixing as he does in the producing.

With Dog Steal The Moon, Shmitt, without manipulating his audience or being formulaic, has accomplished a perfect progression in his follow-up to Nothing Is Real... giving us more of the same but better, plus something new to chew on. Once again, he has delivered a finished product that is an album in the truest sense of the word -- written, performed, produced and released by Stuffy Shmitt, Dog Steal The Moon is a second, remarkable effort from an important emerging independent artist.