SAMANTICS – ALBUM REVIEW


Samantics – Keep Repeating It 
Samantics - Keep Repeating It

Release Date: Out Now

Sorry everybody, I’ve been lax in the extreme. Not only have I been aware of the excellent Samantics for some time but I’ve also been sat on a copy of his album for over two months now without sharing it with you, my loyal followers. Well, the time is now and the place is here so sit down, turn off the TV and listen up; the new album from Exeter based soloist Samantics (Sam Walker to the DVLA) goes by the title ‘Keep Repeating It’ and that is fine advice to follow.

From the get go, opening track ‘Dark Day’ sets a low mood with the thunder clap and the words “I feel like shit today”. Samantics’ style is spoken word poetry in the region of Kate Tempest or Murray Lachlan Young in terms of an impassioned delivery and impressively articulacy – wrap this around a theme of battling with depression and anxiety and you’ve got something truly compelling. ‘Beautiful Day’ follows on like the sunshine after a downpour as a single acoustic guitar note rings out and then a reggae rhythm and organ chords brighten the mood immeasurably – one to strap on to your headphones if you’re going for a Saturday morning walk into town.

‘Dear You’ has a more direct and dark tone like a British Eminem but with more emotional intelligence while ‘Living in the Doghouse’ has a Latin vibe going on with a massively catchy chorus melody under the lyrics “I don’t know what I’m doing here, I don’t know what I’ve done wrong, living in the goddamn doghouse and I don’t know what I’ve done”. On ‘The Hardest Thing To Do’ Samantics explores issues around assembling flat pack furniture….nah, not really, but the melancholy piano melody and frustrated vocals would fit that subject matter for sure. One of the more explicit lyrical performances on the album (and there are a few) is ‘Ode to the Traffic Warden’ which vents a whole lot of anger against one of the most maligned professions in the developed world.

Samantics
The secret to the Samantics sound is the juxtaposition of clever and often funny lyrics with dark tones in the melodies which makes you second guess how you should be feeling throughout the experience. ‘Don’t Be a Dickhead’, for example, has a spooky, Scooby-Doo-Does-Hip-Hop melody but the lyrics are essentially a guide to how a life should be lived without being a douchebag full of humour and charm. On ‘Sitting by Myself Again’ Samantics returns to a theme of Mental Health sung through a choir of his own voices followed by another pleasingly jarring reggae riff that puts me in mind of the superb Jake Morley.

‘True Love’ drafts in the help of peers Sound of the Sirens for a Ukulele strummed tale of true love full of references to Subways and hugging on the toilet that you wouldn’t be surprised to hear coming out of the brain of Gideon Conn. The melancholy piano of ‘The Rock I Grew Up On’ is a life story piece of subdued yet epic proportions that will surely make Ma Walker glow with pride. If you’re going to call a song ‘Happiness’ then opening with the line “Fuck you happiness, you stupid twat” is a good way to grab the attention and setting it to a jaunty little organ melody just seals the deal.

The album closes out with the simply titled ‘Pop Song’ which has the melody of a children’s TV theme that’s been remixed for Eurovision with lyrics that call out the banality of pop in the 21st century. Samantics has a unique sound, a wonderfully skewed take on the world, some raw anger and lyrics to die for so now that I’ve let the cat out of the bag I would urge you to get your listening gear around this one and find yourself a new favourite star in the making.


Live Dates:

16th August – Bimble Inn @ Beautiful Days Festival, Devon
22nd August – Stable Sessions, Exeter
23rd August – Watchet Festival
24th August – Exeter Street Arts Festival
26th August – Quayside Music Festival, Weymouth
7th September – Topsham Festival
14th September – The Bowling Green, Exeter
21st September – The Three Horseshoes, Bradford On Avon
12th October – The King Arthur, Glastonbury w/Funke & the Two Tone Baby
7th November – The Palladium Club, Bideford w/Gaz Brookfield + B-Sydes
28th March – Mac-Stock Festival, Market Warsop

Comments