Sam Himself Never Wants You to Let Him Go
Available now via Sony Music/Taxi Gauche is “Never Let Me Go”, the swift follow-up to the admirably hard-working Sam Himself’s much admired debut album of not even a year and a half ago. Having spread his message with a long list of gigs in Europe and the US gigs throughout 2022, Mr Himself is celebrating the release with an extended European tour in the coming months.
Describing himself as a “Swiss-American Fondue Western baritone”, Sam Koechlin was born in Switzerland but has been a resident of Brooklyn for the past few years. Sam Himself is the name for his creative partnership with producer American Daniel Schlett who has worked with War on Drugs, Marc Ribot, Theo Croker, and many more. “Never Let Me Go” is driven along very nicely indeed by a fine bunch of studio musicians that includes drummer Chris Egan (!!!, Blood Orange, “Downton Abbey“ soundtrack) and bassist Josh Werner (Cibo Matto, Wu Tang Clan). Unhurried in pace and carried along by a satisfyingly deep carpet of guitars, Sam’s instantly recognisable vocals are a warmly reassuring presence throughout, resembling a laid-back, americana- and indie/pop-reared Bruce Springsteen (minus the pathos and the po-faced earnestness). The plentiful highlights include the elbows-out-the-window-type driving song “Baby’s Eyes”, the dreamy “Left of Me”, and the melancholy, pedal-steel-suffused “Blue Mountain”.
