New Orleans native Jake Smith delivers a collection of jazz and blues influenced songs that are mixed with positive and inspiring lyrics on Real, his debut on Rocketown Records.

The project is rooted in a strong musical delivery that combines a variety of styles including pop, jazz, blues and soul. Smith also demonstrates that he has solid singer-songwriter abilities with an assortment of tunes that touch on a variety of different topics and emotions.

Standouts include "This Is Certain," "Breakdown," and "Make Me Move."

Real manages to fuse a variety of different styles together, and at the same time, the lyrics of each of the songs offer hope and encouragement from a Christian point of view. One example is the song "Real Love." As the chorus relates: "Everybody's got a reason to love/Can you feel it/Can you feel it/Everybody's got a reason to/Here it is."

This effort is somewhat eclectic, but that is part of what makes it so unique. Listeners who appreciate artists such as John Mayer and Mat Kearney will welcome Real.