Samantha Leon - Samantha Leon

Samantha Leon

​Samantha Leon 
self-released; 2017

​3.7 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Samantha Leon is young singer/songwriter from New York who started a Kickstarter campaign to fund her self-titled EP Samantha Leon.  She surpassed her goal and her EP sounds very professional.

​She makes soulful music that is easy on the ears. Her songwriting is solid and the most impressive thing is her vocal delivery. She unequivocally has a great voice. The only issue I had was some of the lyrics often felt sophomoric and didn’t blend with the vibe. Maybe I’m just getting old in my late thirties but a song title like “High (You Only Love Me When You’re Fucked Up)” does not work with soul music.

​She goes on to sing lyrics like “We barely fuck now” and blames it on his whiskey dick which made me cringe. Suffice it to say I would have just appreciated a little more ambiguity and poetry then the straightforward journal entries. 

To her credit ““High (You Only Love Me When You’re Fucked Up)” is the most egregious lyrical lament. She keeps it more classy on ballads like “Hello, Goodbye” which comes off much better. You conjure up an image of a starlet singing in a dark jazz bar where people can’t take their eyes off her. 

The most single worthy song is “Bright Yellow Shoes” for a number of reasons but mostly because it’s catchy. It’s also a hopeful, happy sounding song that puts you in a good mood. She has some more success with “Perfect” which sounds like a very well-produced recording of people playing around a bonfire on a beach. 

Overall, the songs were cohesive and immediately enjoyable. That being said she is trying to step into very familiar territory that is very competitive. It might do her some good to think about how she can differentiate herself from the crowd and have her sound be more identifiable. 

That could be through experimentation with unique time signatures, combining  soul music with Industrial or looping samples of cat meowing through a low pass filter. My point is to not be afraid to try something different. 

The is a solid debut and surely leaves from room for her to grow. Recommended

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