Vivid. Evocative. Striking. Take your pick of these or any similar adjective, and you get a perfect description of Samantha Crain's songwriting.
The Choctaw Nation singer-songwriter is back with her seventh album, Gumshoe, capturing a universal yearning for connection and a sense of place over 11 carefully crafted alt-rock tracks.
The album begins with the urgent and minimal "Dragonfly," which finds Crain seeking the freedom and varied hues of a dragonfly glinting in the sun. It is the first of many references to nature, the rich imagery familiar to anyone tuned in to the world around them.
From there, the album turns to a meditation on the awkwardness and anxieties of intimacy, which finds Crain comparing herself to the famously bumbling and clumsy Jacques Clouseau of the Pink Panther series.
If you're expecting "Neptune Baby" to be a joke, the earnestness of the lyrics, combined with the delicate guitars, is much more tender and sweet than humorous.
On "Ridin' Out The Storm," the references to her Oklahoma life come thick and fast. From post oak trees and a bingo hall in Oklahoma City, to sweetgrass and the storms that roll in from the Great Plains.
"B-Attitudes" continues along similar lines, using vivid descriptions of tall grass and dogwoods, local mountain ranges, her nanny's old house and more to set the scene for the intense plea of the chorus.
Within all these places she knows so well, Crain is still seeking a place of her own to call home. It could be a literal house with some land or a community of people to grow with, but it is clear she hasn't found it yet.
Gumshoe is a wonderful showcase of what makes Samantha Crain's music special. Not only do you know you have felt some of the same feelings and wanted the same things in life, but she can also paint such clear pictures of places, it feels like you've been there too.
Must Listens
- "Dragonfly"
- "Neptune Baby"
- "Dart"
- "Ridin' Out The Storm"
- "B-Attitudes"
- "Trap Door"
- "Boilermaker"
