Leeds SAMSA have been switching on lights in influential corridors in this northern part of the world just lately. On this EP they have tuneful and guitar filled stuff of real quality and genuine individuality. They have laid out three songs here that show a firm grasp of emotional precision and a deftness of musical touch that has every bit of you singing along from the first chords.
"First, The Lights" is a vibrant anthem of a song, with happy/sad chiming guitar from the first bars. The production quality is a triumph. Oli Deakin's burred voice avoids the Chris Martin catch and sticks with a totally convincing and soulful bundle of diffident tousled regret. While he hangs out the bruised feelings the band press on with that optimistic drive that keeps up the optimism in the face of yet another romantic disaster.
"Throw My Weight" is a more upbeat and riffy thing that confirms Track One wasn’t the only flash in the SAMSA pan. Pulsing at an infectious, exhilarating eight to the bar, that yearning melody and edge of tears delivery force you willingly into that emotionally vulnerable territory where purchase become a necessity.
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Heavier yet,. "Sinking Sand" has dramatic ambitions that looks over its broad shoulders in the direction of Radiohead, without needing to worry about the fierce gravitional pull that Thom Yorke still exercises over the young and musically adventurous. The guitar part even dares a knowing semi-quote from the Greenwood catalogue. The opening chords are a little portentous, but it’s a fair enough way of cooling the elation of tracks one and two, and marching off into the doomier lowlands of classic rock drama.
This is very high quality stuff. SAMSA have come into their own.
www.samsa.co.uk
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