Door Time: 6:30 PM
Show Time: 7:30 PM
Over the course of her career as an award-winning artist, singer/songwriter/guitarist Samantha Fish has brought extraordinary power to her self-expression, capturing her inner world in combustible riffs, visceral rhythms, and spine-tingling vocal work. On her new albumย Faster, she joins forces with superproducer Martin Kierszenbaum (Lady Gaga, Sting) and imbues even more intensity into her electrifying brand of blues/rock-and-roll. With Fish accompanied by legendary drummer Josh Freese (Guns Nโ Roses, Nine Inch Nails, The Replacements) and bassist Diego Navaira of The Last Bandoleros, the result is a singular body of work both irresistibly galvanizing and emotionally raw.
The follow-up to 2019โsย Kill or Be Kindย (Fishโs Rounder Records debut),ย Fasterย came to life at the famed Village Studios in Los Angeles, where she and Kierszenbaum uncovered new possibilities in her captivating sound. โKansas City played a major part in bringing us together: I was born and raised in KC and Martin has some familial ties. Shortly after being introduced last year, we had a conversation about making an album,โ she recalls. โHis track record was perfect for what I wanted to do with this album, which was to expand into different genres while retaining the roots Iโd built in the blues world.โ Revealing her affinity for North Mississippi blues heroes like R.L. Burnside and wildly inventive iconoclasts like Prince, the album ultimately embodies an unbridled energy true to its emotional core. โThe whole record has a theme of taking charge and taking the reins, in a relationship or in life in general,โ says Fish. โI really thought that after 2020 Iโd end up with a really dismal, bleak album, but instead, we came up with something thatโs fun and sexy and so empowering.โ
Fasterย opens on its spellbinding title track, a fiercely stomping number whose vocal hook states her intentions to โmake your heart beat faster.โ Immediately making good on that promise, Fish next unleashes the restless urgency of โAll Ice No Whiskey,โ a pop-perfect powerhouse she considers something of a dare. โโAll Ice No Whiskeyโ is a way of telling someone they donโt have any of that substance Iโm looking forโsort of like, โCome back when youโve got something interesting for me,โโ Fish says. That defiant spirit also infuses โBetter Be Lonely,โ a fantastically loose and freewheeling track graced with a frenetic guitar solo. โThat songโs about putting someone on ice, where youโre telling them: โI donโt want you right now, but when Iย amย ready to have you, you better be there,โ says Fish. Another bold statement of self-possession, โTwisted Ambitionโ brings mercurial rhythms and jagged guitar work to Fishโs refusal to let others define her. โItโs about flipping the roles of powerโtaking control and confronting a world that tries to put you in your place,โ she notes.
Whileย Fasterย never fails to showcase the gritty vitality of Fishโs musicianship, much of the album journeys into elegantly eclectic sonic terrain. One ofย Fasterโs most vulnerable moments, โCrowd Controlโ unfolds in delicate beats and shimmering keyboard tones, forming a dreamy backdrop to Fishโs self-reflection. โItโs about confronting your demons โ separating the version of yourself that you portray to the world from who you actually are. At its core, itโs about expressing vulnerability,โ Fish explains. โWhen I wrote it, it felt like a true rootsy, Americana song. Martin added keys and modern synth textures that really brought it back around to this plaintive mood.โ Featuring a guest spot from rapper/singer/songwriter Tech N9ne, โLoudโ drifts from doo-wop reverie to guitar-fueled frenzy, riding that tension to glorious effect. โTech N9ne is by far one of the biggest artists to come out of KC, and one of the biggest self-made artists in the world,โ says Fish. โHe was perfect for โLoud,โ which is a song about speaking your truth as loud as you can. Itโs about saying to the person youโre with: โI want you, but I want you ugliness and all. So donโt ever be afraid to speak your mind and speak your heart.โโ And on โHypnotic,โ Fish lays down a mesmerizing piece of R&B-pop, telegraphing unfettered desire in her seductive vocal delivery and lushly textured grooves. โโHypnoticโ is about putting somebody under a spell,โ she says. โThereโve been times in my life when I havenโt felt all that in control in a relationship, and this song was my chance to become that person.โ
For the final track toย Faster, Fish selected the albumโs most tender song, a gorgeously stark and slow-burning ballad called โAll the Words.โ โItโs about letting a relationship go because thatโs whatโs best for everyone, even though itโs a horribly painful experience,โ says Fish. โWhen we recorded it, it was just me on guitar, Diego on bass, Martin playing the grand piano. Itโs a song I hold very close, and it felt right to make it as raw as possible.โ
Throughoutย Faster, Fish threads her songwriting with the kind of nuanced storytelling and ultra-vivid detail that comes from carefully honing her craft. โBecause we usually tour so much, most of my albums have been written in hotels between shows,โ she says. โThis was the first time Iโve ever had the opportunity to just sit in one place, and pour everything that was happening around me into songs.โ Growing up in Missouri, Fish first found her love of songwriting in her late teens, mining inspiration from the likes of Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. Having taken up guitar at age 15, she soon began seeking out gigs by cold-calling countless local bars. โI used to open the phone book and call up every place in Kansas City, even if they didnโt have live shows,โ she remembers. โI had maybe a three percent success rate, but eventually I started filling up my calendarโif you put on a good enough show, word of mouth gets around.โ Over the years, Fish has maintained her reputation as a phenomenal live act and repeatedly turned out critically acclaimed albums, in addition to earning an ever-growing number of accolades.
For Fish, one of the greatest joys of making music is the powerful exchange of energy at her incendiary live shows. โI fell in love with music from going to shows, and I know how cathartic it can be. It heals your heart,โ she says. โAnytime I play live, I just want to want to make people forget about everything else in the world and feel that same joy that I feel on stage.โ And in the process of creatingย Faster, Fish experienced a similar exhilarationโa sustained head rush thatโs entirely palpable in every track on the album. โThereโs such a transformation that can happen in the studio when you really own that freedom to be creative,โ she says. โI feel so charged up in those moments, like I can be whoever I want to be. Itโs just me and these incredible musicians trying to make a piece of art that speaks for itself and contributes something new to the world. Itโs never hard to feel inspired or empowered when thatโs the mission.โ
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