Sounds Like: You visited an unpublicized traveling carnival only to hear an exquisite songbird accompanied by the strongman on calliope.
RIYL: The Softies, El Perro Del Mar, Jolie Holland, Serge Gainsbourg, The Organ
Response: Maybe it's the fog's slow ride through the Pacific Northwest that has me hankering for haunting melodies. Or maybe it's just winter in general. Or maybe it's a little bit of both--fitting since that's the name of Johanna Samuels's debut release. Not that the soft melodies of A Little Bit of Both are in any way dependent on the weather. Her tremolo vocals and "ooh la las" would linger in any season, and the musical stylings are just as suited to June evenings as January mornings.
There hasn't been much buzz about her yet, but Stelios Phili at Popsense has nothing but nice things to say about Samuels:
At the center of A Little of Bit of Both is the classic theme of love, but Johanna's take on it is refreshingly candid. "Prisoner's of the Parking Lot" is the most nostalgic track on the EP, recalling the bittersweet memories of a past love - "Back in high school/When the city held me down/We used to laugh, you'd spin me/like I was the only the only girl who wore your crown."
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