Rounder (label)
20 September 2019 (released)
28 July 2019
When I saw Samantha Fish earlier this year, her performance at London’s Garage completely blew me away. Her versatility and the quality of her songwriting are superb and this album shows exactly why she is so highly considered.
Her greatest strength is the way she can turn her hand to almost any genre be it Blues, soul, Americana or even Country and this album touches on all of them. It was recorded in Memphis and has a wonderful feel of the heat and soul of the city. But it is also near to Nashville and the stunning music of that city leaves it’s influence on the album too.
The album kicks off with ‘Bulletproof’ with a murky cigar-box riff behind her vocals as they move from bittersweet to all-out blast in a heartbeat. The track is hypnotic from the first moments and I found myself completely rapt for the nearly six minutes of the number.
The title track follows and you couldn’t really be further from ‘Bulletproof’. A love ballad, sung sweetly and with soulful horns and a dense feel to the song. Her guitar solo is strong with plenty of fuzz and the whole song just underpins the principle that many loves get to a point where they will either disintegrate or become all-encompassing.
‘Love Letters’ is a belting Blues Rocker with some great guitar work but the shock is the way her voice swings from sweet ‘little-girl’ to sultry siren to country rocker and back again. She really can do it all.
And so it goes, track after track in different forms and genres and all feeling natural and leaving you feeling she could be the boss on any style she chooses.
The album was recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis with production by Scott Billington and a stunning mix job by Steve Reynolds – they have 5 Grammies between them and this album could well add a sixth and seventh.
Samantha Fish is a genuine class act and this album should be a real breakthrough for her, top stuff from start to finish.
