First Impressions are whiz-bang reviews of singles, 7″s, EPs, and LPs which are given a review after a single listen. This is a great way for TGEFM to showcase some of the releases which may not get a full review on their own.
Pure Noise Records, 21 Sep 2022
I came upon Samiam with 1994’s Clumsy and I enjoyed it well enough. It was pretty serious for my tastes, but I still listened to it once in a while. That said, I’ve never really kept up after that record. Truthfully, I couldn’t figure out how to get motivated to check out new material when Clumsy was pretty much an “enjoyed it well enough”-type listen for me. As I kept getting into newer bands, Samiam just fell from the rear view.
So when a new Samiam song popped up on a feed, I was sorta surprised to learn they were still a thing. Even more so, I wondered if my advancing age brought with it a bit of maturity that would help new songs from the band hit right. With Chris Wollard (Hot Water Music) helping out, “Lights Out Little Hustler” has tough lead and backing vocals that sound good harmonizing in a way that reminds me a bit of Skiba and Andriano from Alkaline Trio. And the vocal melody lands pretty right throughout, especially on the verses. The strained lead vocals on the chorus sound just like I remember from “Capsized” – a good thing. Plus, the song uses nicely chiming guitars on the verses and some powerful buzzing guitars on the choruses and the stampeding pace doesn’t relent at all. It’s weirdly spot on with how I remembered the band – but it’s sounding a lot better to me now. Good stuff.
- Song Comes From: Lights Out Little Hustler (standalone single? – there’s also an album in the works, but not much info)
- Album Release Date: 21 Sep 2022 (release date for the single)
- Purchase/Pre-Order/Pre-Save: Bandcamp / Various Services
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ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
