Sam And The Black Seas – “Something Went Wrong”
Sam And The Black Seas – “Something Went Wrong” – Single Review
There continues to be every reason to support this band.
Believe me…if you saw this side of the screen from wherever you are and the amount of requests I take-in to listen to & follow Sam And The Black Seas & what they’re up to now – you’d already know what I know; people out there really love & respect this band. And I don’t blame them one bit.
Sam And The Black Seas have made an impression on our pages previously through various songs & singles they’ve been releasing as they build-up material for their debut, full-album Silver, due out early this year. Like the vast many of you I already know to be out there waiting, I too am excited about that.
The intricate folk-music of Sam And The Black Seas really has a magical atmosphere you can hear – and the band carries this invitational sound with them from track-to-track, single-to-single, so I figure that first full record is going to end up pretty damn killer when it’s all said & done. This time on their new song, “Something Went Wrong” they’ve taken that magic another incredible step further with perhaps the best song I’ve heard from them to-date.
For me personally…”Something Went Wrong” is completely single-worthy. While I think that the song plays like one gigantic, slow-building & solid hook – I still think they’ve got a sound that’ll transcend the approach and pull people in that need defined verses, choruses, bridges etc. “Something Went Wrong” still has’em, don’t get me wrong…but you’ll hear how well everything flows together to create one complete experience overall. Sometimes that’ll work for a band…other times not so much…but I’m not even remotely worried about Sam And The Black Seas…they’ve nailed this one and I’m sure it’ll connect just as strongly, if not stronger than ever before with their fans & new-fans alike.
With a video that’s every bit as awesome as the song itself – Sam’s vocals are sounding better than ever before with his mix of slight rasp & beautiful melody combined. Sounding slick, sounding smooth and right ‘in the pocket’ here – he does a spellbinding job bringing the gently-haunting atmosphere to life through his words. With their signature, gorgeous acoustic guitars from Sam & Andrea sparkling & shining ever-reliably, they’re joined by Stefano’s heartbeat-percussion & drums building the beat slowly in the background and the intricate & beautiful sounds emanating from Mattia’s cello. Everything comes together in an absolutely stunning progression here as it goes from its gentle-state to a more involved rhythm & groove…what really makes it noteworthy is the flow…each part leads into the next so incredibly well with such inspiring performances and sound.
They take the final minute or so as an instrumental and sonically soar to the end of the song as it breaks from its tender beginnings to take the energy up a notch or two to the end of the song. I’m highly impressed by “Something Went Wrong” – I really do think this is probably my favorite from Sam And The Black Seas that I’ve heard so far, which is truly saying a lot considering I don’t think they’ve ever put forth a song I that I haven’t liked or loved. This band has that magic & mystique surrounding them that’s required to take it all to the next-level…and I really feel like this band will find themselves on extremely solid ground and firmly established in the music-scene already by the time that Silver comes out this year. That being said…enjoy this tune for now; as I understand it, it’s going to be the final taste of the album that we get before it’s official release date.
Real credit to Both, who directed & wrote the screenplay for the video, as well as London-based label Atomic Fat for the incredibly captivating mix on “Something Went Wrong.” Through their combined efforts…band included of course…everything about “Something Went Wrong” seems to point to things ‘going extremely RIGHT’ for Sam And The Black Seas – I can’t wait for Silver, it’s gonna be amazing!
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