OFFICIAL: http://www.samanthaleonmusic.com/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/samleon_music
Video Teaser: https://youtu.be/v5I3R_SURcg
Written
by Lydia Stewart, posted by blog admin
This
is an EP that pulls no punches. Samantha Leon culled the funds for her first
self-titled release as a result of a Kickstarter campaign that has enabled her
to express herself in a way few artists do anymore. She’s not afraid of staring
loss in the face. She’s likewise emboldened to declare her continuing wounded
strength over the course of these seven songs and surrounds herself with
musical backing that frames her sweet, aching voice with great aplomb. The EP’s
production, despite its DIY funding, is obviously astute in how it frames her
pained and praise worthy narratives with a distinctly theatrical tinge that
never flattens or gussies up the emotional authenticity of her material.
Samantha Leon is undoubtedly real and the lessons she learned from influences
like Cat Stevens and others inform this debut in a multitude of ways while
still allowing her to sing with individuality.
The
opening track “Bright Yellow Shoes (No Turbulence Mix)” proves to be an
excellent opening curtain. We’re immediately introduced to all the elements
defining her work. There’s tremendous atmospherics coming through in her
phrasing, the way she elongates certain words while passing over others, and
how she tailors her voice to the accompaniment. This is moody music, but make
no mistake that it is despairing. Instead, much of this collection is about
experience, surviving it, and what lessons we can glean from that survival. This
theme is given a darkly comic twist with the track “High (You Only Love Me When
You’re Fucked Up)”, but even the light comedic touch doesn’t mitigate the
heartbreak at the heart of the song. This track is musically distinguished by
some particularly inventive percussion and guitar work that never attempts competing
with her voice but, instead, helps shape its presentation in such a way that
further highlights her strengths. “Run Away” is, arguably, the angriest track
on this EP, but Leon is never so cheap as a writer or performer that she
undercuts the track with bellicose bile. The vocal, as always, is technically
superb and understated, but there are real teeth in her emotions capable of
cutting into any listener.
“Perfect”
features Danny Matos collaborating with Leon on an acoustic track with some
great percolating percussion and shimmering acoustic guitar. This is a singer
and group of musicians with considerable finesse at their command, but they
never let their technical excellence undercut the raw feelings burning in the
song’s heart. The musical intensity ramps up in the song’s second half and
Matos’ emergence with his rapping style helps seal the deal that this is one of
the EP’s best tracks. The full band version of the opener “Bright Yellow Shoes”
has a less ethereal quality than the previous version, but the laidback vibe
remains strong. There’s even some nice strings augmenting the song and its
light melodic touch helps further enrich the inherent melancholic quality of
the song. Soulful pop rarely sounds as good as Samantha Leon’s debut and she’s
certain to make a deep impression on anyone who hears this release.
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