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10"
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BR 007LP
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"I love songs that make you feel something viscerally," says Johanna Samuels, the LA-based songwriter who releases brand new EP Have A Good One on Basin Rock, and it's a sentiment that echoes right through the heart of the five stirring songs that make up her new work, Born in New York City and named after Dylan's "Visions of Johanna", Samuels subsequently moved to LA and grew up on the classic songwriters of yesteryear before finding her way to Elliott Smith and Jon Brion. 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 visceral new collection. 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 long-term relationship falling apart. More than just skin-and-bone, the songs here are comprised of lap steel, clarinet, Juno analog synthesizers, and more; this rich instrumentation provides a swaying and elegant back-drop which helps bring Samuel'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 (2017), 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 the shadows and into the hearts and minds of the listener. "Why Do I Go There?" is a bold, glowing opener, the playful piano and 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. Accompanying "Rush Of Wheels" is a video that Samuel's made with best friend (and Sundance Grand Jury prizewinner) Anu Valia. Basin Rock is a relatively new label based in the Lancashire/Yorkshire border town of Todmorden. They've released albums by Julie Byrne, Nadia Reid, and Jim Ghedi. Heavyweight, die cut sleeve; Includes download code.
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