It is rather blustery out there, so I don't know about you, but I'm hunkering down with books and music for the day. Where better to start than with this latest track from Samantha Crain - Ridin' Out The Storm. It may be in fact be sponsored by the current UK weather. Maybe.
On the track, Samantha shares: "I was watching this TV show called “The Great” one night and this one line caught me. I’m sure it is based on some older, canonical text but, basically, it was this: “Let it go. It is a storm. They will never stop coming, but pass through and away. They always will.” To me, that seemed like the best way I could sum up the gist of living and I wanted to write an expansive song about how that has played out in my life.”
I love Samantha's music and it is great to have her releasing new songs into the world - and better still, she's headed out on tour soon! She's just announced a 2025 US tour with a few UK/EU dates sprinkled in - full list of tour dates and tickets are here.
Dropping in with the best news, Samantha Crain is back!!!!!!
She's just shared her first new
original music since 2021 (how time flies?!) in the shape of
Dragonfly and I am absolutely here for it. It's no secret that I
have a soft spot for my mutual loves of music and nature colliding, so a song
about dragonflies? Yes please!
Talking about the inspiration behind the track, Samantha shares: “Dragonflies are an amazing insect. They can fly in all six directions with great efficiency. They have iridescence, which allows them to appear differently depending on the light and polarization around them. They live most of their lives as nymphs, immature, not flying at all, but preparing for the coming moment of flight. They can see 360 degrees around themselves because of their compound eyes.
To me, a dragonfly symbolizes the type of creature I aim to be: flexible and resilient in this ever-changing world that I have no control over, living moment to moment and moving towards potential moments of wisdom and lift–observant in my mind and seeing beyond the limitations of the physical self. This song is an ode to the simple sophistication of the dragonfly and how it mirrors the self-actualization that I have been searching for my whole life.”
BRB, I'm off to re-discover Samantha's back catalogue.
I’ve been struggling a little to get back into the rhythm of writing posts
regularly lately, but I have something pretty exciting to write about. In a
dreamy and somewhat spontaneous turn of events (hey - remember spontaneity?) I
went to an actual real life gig on Wednesday night. My first gig in almost 600
days. Long overdue and a completely joyous experience!
There have been a few shows lately that I’ve wanted to go to and haven’t for
one reason or another… it has felt a little as if I’m doing nothing but
working, interning and failing at being a blogger at the moment. It’s
difficult to describe quite how much of a gap live music has left for the past
year and a half and just how much I needed this show - but if you’re here,
you know that exact feeling.
Like many, getting out into nature has been a bit of a lifeline through all of
this and has, I guess, unintentionally filled that gap a little. It’s not too
dissimilar - both are an escape of sorts, an opportunity to come across people
with similar interests, not to mention the glorious birdsong. (Ps, if you’re
interested, I’m posting some nature pics to insta
here.)
It was such a treat for my first gig back to be The Staves, honestly.
Their latest record Good Woman has soundtracked 2021 for me, and it is
no spoiler to say that it will very likely be featuring pretty highly on my
albums of the year list.
First up, though, was Samantha Crain. A good woman indeed. And hilarious too.
Together with Kyle Reid (“I brought him over from Oklahoma with me”) she
performed tracks from last year’s record A Small Death and this year’s I Guess
We Live Here Now EP. A genuinely delightful performance. Once I’d got past
the novelty of being feet away from somebody performing live music I was blown
away by the skill on show. Sam’s vocals are incredible. I’ve (foolishly) not
done a deep dive into her back catalogue before, but will certainly be
making time to now.
The mind boggles a little at the man behind us who was there specifically to
see Sam, and loudly told somebody all about this during a couple of the
tracks. Gigs are back and… so are the obnoxious people who think that the
artist somehow won’t notice you talking loudly over their set, apparently. Joy. Don’t get
me wrong - he sounded as if he really loved her music and I love that energy
but... really?
After a quick change around, it was time for The Staves. Just two of them for
this tour, Jess and Camilla - Emily, as the pair jovially proclaimed between
songs, is selfishly skipping the tour to look after her baby. While it’s a
shame not to experience those beautiful three-part sisterly harmonies, the
show was pretty darn special regardless. Backing the pair up on stage were
their ‘beautiful baby boys’ (their words, and who am I to disagree) Marcus
Hamblett, Glyn Daniels, Chris Dagger and Rob Pemberton.
I’ve seen the trio once before, when they performed a secret set in the wine
bar at Bushstock Festival in 2015. It was a stunning acoustic set but I’d
never actually listened to them before then, and have been desperate for an
opportunity to see them again now that I’m pretty besotted with their music.
Performing the majority of the new album alongside a few older favourites, the
set was a stunner. I think I’d probably have thought any live music was pretty
magical after so long away, but this bunch are genuinely on another level.
My biggest takeaway from the show, though, was just how happy everybody on
stage looked to be there. To be back performing live and finally sharing their
new record with fans in the live setting. Their joy was infectious - I
couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense that I was exactly where I should
be in that moment. And more than a little bit weepy too. All of the emotions.
Now… when can I go to another gig?
One of my favourite discoveries of the past year or so was the beautiful voice of Samantha Crain, whose record A Small Death was released via Real Kind Records, a new independent set up by Lucy Rose. Talented women supporting each other I am very much here for! It is a stunning record and received lots of well deserved praise, and (perhaps most excitingly for Sam?) featured in my albums of the year list. I'm delighted that she's back with not only a gorgeous single but news of an upcoming EP, I Guess We Live Here Now, due via RKR on 9th April.
As the title of the EP alludes to, the EP finds its origins close to home for Samantha. Forced to stay home in Oklahoma during lockdown, she worked on the frontline at a grocery store, and, like lots of us, used some of that extra time to appreciate the area that she lives in more than she might normally. Though familiar, those streets offered up some new appeal, and created inspiration for new music. I am absolutely loving Bloomsday and the lovely video, directed by Sam herself - watch it below!
On lead single Bloomsday, Samantha shares “I had bits of Bloomsday written out as a very long lyrical poem that I wasn't sure what to do with at first. I wasn't sure how to make it a song. One day, I was at work, at this market I was working at for a bit and I started singing the old gospel tune "This Little Light of Mine" under my breath as I was working. It really just made me feel good almost immediately. I could feel the agency that I had over my own mental and emotional state just with this little song about kindness and love. The next time I browsed through some of the lyrics I had been working on, I realized how it correlated with this moment I had had at work... how a normal, average day of seemingly no importance or specialness can become an opportunity for participation just by being aware and mindful."
"I started pulling out the bits of lyrics that I felt painted the best picture of feeling pulled along by life without control and then paired them with a reworking of the refrain from that old gospel song and it just felt hopeful and good. To me the song is anthemic in that it reminds me of the capacity I have for influencing my own day, the days of others, and a larger connectivity."
(more) albums of the year... part 3: in case you missed it, I'm sharing my favourite records of 2020 (main post here) this week. Seven albums a day across the week, in release order. Enjoy!
New Haim?! Yes, oh, so much yes. On this record, the sisters' confidence in themselves and their music shines through. Right down to the ever glorious videos. They know they're good at what they do and I think this is their best record yet. That confidence allows them to dance between genres, exploring sonically more than they have in the past, and the results are ace. They've spoken openly about individual struggles that have influenced the writing of these tracks, some of their most personal yet - with specific experiences feeding into the lyrics. A fab record to kick off today's list... favourite tracks of mine include Don't Wanna, I Know Alone, The Steps and Summer Girl (technically a bonus track, but it counts.)
I hadn't listened to Dream Wife before (but had been meaning to) when Sports! was released as the first taste of their new record. I was intrigued and immediately listened to the self-titled debut, loved it, and began to wait patiently for the new record. It's seriously good. On release, the record was the only one in the UK Top 20 chart that wasn't backed by a major label, and the only one produced entirely by womxn. They managed to take the 2nd and 3rd places respectively in the Indie and Vinyl charts, an exciting (and huge) achievement for a band not on a major label, and so deserved. There's some really tender moments through the album, and some kind of bonkers moments, and the mixture of the two is sublime. Favourite tracks include RH RN, Hasta La Vista and Temporary.
I don't have too much to say about this one because, frankly, you should stop reading and just go and give it a listen. But seeing as you're here... Samantha is a few records deep, but this was the first to catch my eye, as it was the first release on Lucy Rose's new label, an imprint of Communion. Having toured with Samantha, Lucy tells of listening to demos and feeling an urge to help release them into the world. After a series of car accidents following the release of her previous record in 2017, Samantha lost the use of her hands, and was left with the worry that she might never hold a guitar again. This record charts that experience, and a return to doing something she loves, so it's filled with a lot of emotion. It's lovely. Favourite tracks might actually be the opening three: An Echo, Pastime and Holding To The Edge Of Night.
I have so much love for this, the only live album on the list. My pal Tom (who played trumpet in Stornoway) sent me the audio files of the record back in January. Naturally I sat through them and had a happy nostalgic cry for one of my favourite shows that I've ever been to. Back in March 2017, I was working for Tom's (and Oli, bassist in Storno) company Tigmus, and we promoted the hometown farewell gig. I spent the day at the venue, watching soundcheck, the show itself, taking photos of fans with the band at the merch table afterwards and rubbing shoulders (remember that?!) with the best of Oxford's music scene at the afterparty. This is a brilliant recording of a superb and emotional farewell gig. It was a lovely surprise to find that a photo I took at soundcheck is printed in the CD case, a sweet touch. While not strictly a recording from the gig, as there aren't any music videos as such, I'm embedding this fab video from lockdown. Fave tracks from the album include... November Song, The Coldharbour Road and I Saw You Blink (but... all of it.)
This one is stunning - a Stay Loose PR discovery, which are most often beautiful. A record that finds the artist processing tragedy and substance abuse across three generations of his family, describing it as "about honesty after hiding for so many years." Guided therapy for Haux becomes a soothing and soulful listen for us, and one that he hopes will help others. Seriously beautiful. Favourite tracks: Salt, Eight (with Rosie Carney) and Heavy.
For one reason or another I'd never really given a proper listen to Lianne's music. The singles from this record were coming out and I was falling in love with them one after the other. The full record makes for a gorgeous listen. It's the creative result of a breakup and moving back to London from the US, about leaving a person and a place behind. Despite these themes, or because of them, the record exudes confidence. Personal growth is reflected in the confidence of that self-title, three records in. Favourite tunes for me are Read My Mind, Can't Fight and Please Don't Make Me Cry.
Hear me out - I think this is even better than WJH's debut?! Like Richard Walters of yesterday's post, listening to Willie's music makes me feel such a strong connection to Oxford, and I love that. Having followed his music since just a couple of months into uni back in 2014, it's been such a joy to see how widely this record has been appreciated. Yala have done such a good job with their campaign. His show at Omeara last year is one of my last gigs (with fellow Oxford dreamboats BE GOOD opening) and it was brill!Favourite tracks are hard to choose as there are SO many tunes but Fashun kicks off the album in glorious style and Heavy Traffic, Twin Heavy and Why You Gotta Do It are solid tunes.
Thanks for reading/listening! Seven more tomorrow...
There's something pretty special about seeing people get the opportunity to do things that they love, and support things that they believe in. Time for some exciting news which I've been meaning to share for a few weeks - I was excited to learn that Lucy Rose has set up an independent label, Real Kind Records, as an imprint of Communion Records.
Her first signing is Samantha Crain, an artist who Lucy has been a friend and fan of for a few years, and who she toured with last year. Listening to the new record which she had self-produced in her US home, Lucy describes herself being struck by it as "one of the best albums I had heard in years, maybe ever" but finding that Samantha wasn't really sure how she would release it. Taking matters into her own hand, Lucy spoke to her label Communion, who have given her the opportunity to set up a label as an imprint of them, to release Samantha's record (and plenty more to come, I hope!) Lucy describes it as "one of the most exciting moments of my life [...] I have real ambition for Samantha and this album. It's a deeply personal album and one that I will continue to listen to and enjoy for all the years to come. I hope many, many more people will too."
The record in question is A Small Death, due for release on 1st May. The first single An Echo was released a few weeks back, with the follow-up Garden Dove streaming now. Samantha explains that it is "about putting in the work on yourself, not only for yourself, but for someone you love too."
About the record, Samantha describes that it was "written and recorded during and after some serious hardships in my life. I had lost use of my hands, sank into despair due to the apparent loss of my ability to perform on instruments. I was suffering from a mental and physical breakdown and when I eventually came out on the other side of it, with my capacities renewed, I found such joy and appreciation to be able to create again and put all of this into this record, because of this, in my eyes, it is the most important record I've made and I held it firmly in my arms and carried it through to completion. I saw this as my bonus round, my second chance, and a time to re-evaluate my principles as an artist and my objective as a person. The state of peace that I came to following this tumultuous time in my life allowed me a real clarity towards desires for this record."
Samantha tours the UK following the album release - tickets here.
