Samantha Fish
Paper Doll
***and1/2 out of *****
The newest offering on Rounder Records from guitar great Samantha Fish, Paper Doll, continues Fish's style of supped up rocking blues, yet turns down her recent electro-pop tinges.
On Fish's recent albums, Faster and Kill or Be Kind, as well as her duet album with Jesse Dayton, Death Wish Blues, Fish pushed her sound towards more modern pop flourishes with neon tinged buzzing and hip-hop collabs. While the pop sheen is not completely removed from Paper Doll, it is incredibly toned down as Fish focuses on classic rock touch points and hill country blues. In a way this is a retro record for Fish, returning more to her blues/rock roots with confidence.
"Lose You" starts slinky and rolling before big layers of backing vocals and increased energy pushes it huge to close but "Sweet Southern Sounds" travels the more sultry blues path behind Fish's excellent vocals as the tune drips like molasses before a kick ass finale.
The slow, vibrating, emotional ballad "Off In the Blue" showcases Fish's strong voice as does the dramatic over the top finale "Don't Say It" which deals with heartbreak in grand fashion, bringing in a choir vocal backing. "Rusty Razor" displays a bit of a punkish edge and while all of the tunes are solid, two stand out.
The title track is an arena ready, self-assured strutting rocker that bangs and grooves hard around Fish's powerful riffs and soaring voice. "Fortune Teller" is a dynamic album centerpiece, combining haunting swampy blues with motoring southern rock and roll before unleashing a titanic guitar solo that screeches gloriously. While it does feel like two tunes fused together, it still works wonderfully and will certainly be a showstopper.
That is where Samantha Fish shines, live onstage, and while she has yet to fully put it all together on a must hear studio album, Paper Doll delivers more authoritative hard rockers with blues backbones that she can crush in concert.
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