Johanna Samuels | Black 10" | Have A Good One

Description: Johanna Samuels | Black 10" | Have A Good One | Basin Rock Description: Born in New York City and named after Dylan’s Vision of Johanna, Samuels subsequently moved to LA and grew up on the classic songwriters of yesteryear (Young, Petty, Morrison) before finding her way to Elliott Smith and Jon Brion, both of whom had a huge impact on her writing. Samuels then spent the best part of a decade honing her craft, carefully peeling away the layers until she found herself here; a stark, absorbing, and, yes, visceral new collection that is her strongest and most honest work to-date.Finding a way to balance bright pop melodies with a drifting sense of melancholy that can’t be placed,Samuels made the most of a bad year, writing the EP as a reaction to her longterm relationship falling apart.More than just skin-and-bone, the songs here are comprised of lap steel, clarinet, Juno analog synthesisers, and more, and this rich instrumentation provides a swaying and elegant back-drop which helps bringSamuel’s stories beautifully to life. Recorded with musical partner, the up and coming producer Sean O’Brien (who helped engineer The National’s Sleep Well Beast LP) the new EP was created in his studio, which became something of a haven for Samuels and the work she was creating. As such, the five songs on Have A Good One are full of emotional and musical depth, each moment of darkness acutely balanced by a brightness that lifts these songs out of a shadows and into the hearts and minds of the listener.These two elements are the ying-and-yang of Samuels work, and nowhere is this better epitomised than on the record’s opening two songs. Lead track Why Do I Go There? is a bold, glowing opener, the playful pianoand lush instrumentation belying the sense of heartache in Samuels beautifully lilting voice, driving the track forwards as it softly buries its way into your consciousness. Then comes the tender, country-like balladry of Rush Of Wheels, written quickly in the dead hours of night,it presents a poignant quest for answers, aching under the weight of its emotional turmoil; sad and oh so beautiful.Johanna Samuels is fourth signing to Basin Rock, a relatively new label based in the Lancashire / Yorkshire border town of Todmorden) who has released albums by Julie Byrne, Nadia Reid and Jim Ghedi. Artist: Johanna Samuels Genre: Folk Label: Basin Rock Price: £11.6935

Price: 11.69 GBP

Location: Bristol

End Time: 2024-11-19T17:58:37.000Z

Shipping Cost: 21.33 GBP