After a wonderful album with Jesse Drayton ‘Death Wish Blues’ back in 2023 two years after her last solo record ‘Faster’ and now Samantha Fish is back like clockwork with her eighth studio album ‘Paper Doll’. You know that rare moment when you catch your breath because everything has fallen in place? Well this is one of those moments. ‘Paper Doll’ has the songs, has the energy, has those wonderful changes of pace, and the track listing is sheer perfection. If like me you thought that ‘Faster’ was a hard act to follow, then strap yourself in for what just might be Samantha Fish’s most complete album to date.
Opening with ‘I’m Done Runnin,’’ a track that Samantha tells me is one of only two older songs here, (and a song that was originally intended to be on the previous record ‘Faster’ but just didn’t fit at the time), it’s a case of very definitely putting your best foot forward. It’s the perfect opener starting stripped back and laying down a great groove before it builds and bursts into life. The thing that most strikes you is how assured the vocal is as Samantha sings about self-reliance of defiance. This one surely has to make the ‘live’ set.
‘Can Ya Handle The Heat?’ that follows, a collaboration with Katie Pearlman and Bobby Harlow, keeps the mood upbeat and is completely infectious with its stomp and wonderful melodies. It’s third track though ‘Lose You’ that might just be one of my current favourites – it’s a song that simply smoulders before cranking up the heat – it’s a huge song!
‘Sweet Southern Sounds’ opens with some wonderfully light guitar and keys and develops a sweet soulful groove before building beautifully with some magical fretwork. It’s one of those songs that you could easily label a ‘classic’ like a few here, and one that you feel will be impossible not to play live. In our interview with Samantha we talked about ‘Sweet Southern Sounds’ and a couple of the longer tracks on the album that get extended workouts on ‘Paper Doll’ rather than purely receiving that treatment live. Here they sound great and it will be interesting to see how fluid they become live.
‘Off In The Blue’ that follows takes us somewhere else entirely, and that’s part of the beauty of this record – it shifts moods and renders textures effortlessly. This is soulful and earthy Americana and gentler fare that, though understated is an indisputable work of art.
A key track here for me is ‘Fortune Teller’ and I absolutely love Sam’s beautifully delivered vocal. It starts as a killer slow blues with the vocal dominating the story, but man that second half just explodes gloriously! This was made to be played live – it reminds you of a studio take on the sort of song that Samantha would expand on stage and as a result that that wonderfully fluid feel.
If you want a quick shot of Punky-fuelled fun then ‘Rusty Razor (feat. Mick Collins)’ is just huge! There’s a 60’s stye guitar sound that has you thinking of British Rhythm and Blues acts like The Animals and that garagey feel transports you back in time. It’s one of the best here.
Title track ‘Paper Doll’ the penultimate here, on an album that gets straight to the point and delivers track after track, is simply sublime. It’s the big Blues number that just sweeps you away! Samantha plays it like she feels every note, and the lyrics cut deep. It’s a song you have to hear and one that I imagine will explode into an even bigger statement live.
The last world goes to ‘Don’t Say It’ that closes the album in a gentler way that you might have anticipated. The lilting guitar builds into a wonderfully laid-back lament. By the end of this record you breath is well and truly taken. Samantha Fish may already be one of the most complete live artists you will ever see but with ‘Paper Doll’ she has finally managed to translate that supreme vision and take it to the studio.
If you’ve not seen Samantha Fish play live, then you’ve missed one of the best shows you’ll see. There’s an energy and a presence that’s hard to match, and a reverence and excitement you can feel. As someone who has followed Samantha’s career from the off, hearing ‘Paper Doll’ I was astounded. Not only is it a great Blues album it’s a great Rock album too and it touches all points in-between. There’re songs here that that will get you dancing, songs that will have you standing mouth open in awe, but every single one of them will move you. This is the most complete Blues Rock album I’ve heard in years.
9/10
TRACK LIST –
I’m Done Runnin’
Can Ya Handle The Heat?
Lose You
Sweet Southern Sounds
Off In The Blue
Fortune Teller
Rusty Razor (feat. Mick Collins)
Paper Doll
Don’t Say It
PAPER DOLL CREDITS
Produced by Bobby Harlow
Executive Producer: Rueben Williams
Mixed by Bobby Harlow and Oliver Ocean at The Orb, Austin, TX
Engineered by Oliver Ocean, Ignacio Gonzalez, Wyatt Blair, Brendon Sanders, and Chris “Frenchie” Smith at The Orb, Austin, TX, and Savannah Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Mastered by Paul Blakemore at CMG Mastering
Photography: Lizzie Smith
Package Design: Natalia Szmidt
THE PLAYERS
Samantha Fish – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, cigar box guitar, vocals
Ron Johnson – bass
Mickey Finn – Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, acoustic piano
Jamie Douglass – drums
Scaife – electric piano, backing vocals
Keo – backing vocals
Gabbi Beauvais – backing vocals
Bobby Harlow – tambourine
Mick Collins – vocals on “Rusty Razor”
Rueben Williams / Thunderbird Management
