NATE SMITH & AVRIL LAVIGNE - Can You Die From A Broken Heart - RCA Records Nashville

When they teamed up on the 2024 ACM Awards for an electrifying performance of “Bulletproof,” Nate Smith and Avril Lavigne not only delivered what many hailed as the performance of the night, but they also provided a strong tease of things still to come with his sophomore album, California Gold.

Led by the platinum certified “Bulletproof,” “Fix What Your Didn’t Break,” and “Wish I Never Felt,” in what acts as the final preview of the album ahead of its October 4^th release date, the ACM New Male Artist of the Year and the diamond certified international superstar team up once again on “Can You Die From A Broken Heart.”

Written by Kevin Fisher, Michael Matosic, and Tom Walker, the softness guiding the melodic structure allows the heartbreak laced into Smith’s vocal to grip heartstrings as he faces the mirror of struggled confession while lamenting that “emotions burn in different lights,” creatively painting juxtaposition between how the day and the nighttime hours haunt him with tortured memories.

Injecting the perspective of both heartbreaks, Lavigne’s second verse adds tremendous depth to the lyric as she, similarly to him, is seemingly stuck in the cycle of used to be, admitting through strained intensity that she’s broken inside and with each passing moment of trying to hold on to him, he’s fading away into someone she used to know.

Battling individual turmoil and holding tightly to stuck feelings of trying to move on from a broken heart while repeatedly reliving it, the grittiness that holds the edges of their voices when they come together in the chorus elevates a hard tug on your heartstrings as they cry out in desperation:

“They say time heals all wounds, is it ever enough?

I wanna learn how to cope, wanna learn how to love again

Oh, I've been tryin' to hold on, but I'm fallin' apart

Tell me, can you die from a brokеn heart?

Tell me, can you diе from a broken heart?”

With unbridled rawness fueling lyrics that bend brushes of bittersweet frustration, heartache, and unbalanced brokenness, the soulful richness of Smith and the emotive innocence of Lavigne match together perfectly to capture a fractured space we’ve all experienced.

As “Whiskey On You,” “World On Fire,” and “Bulletproof” all provide strong anchors to his resume, Nate Smith continues to intriguingly turn heads with “Can You Die From A Broken Heart,” laying another firm foundation on what could end up being one of the biggest album releases of 2024.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)