If Margo Price and Dori Freeman have turned heads with
stunning album releases in 2016, they may have to shuffle along and make room
for Carter Sampson. While the first two have a debut record as their common
thread, WILDER SIDE is actually her fourth full release. However as this is the
first time Carter’s music has crossed my path, it has all the freshness appeal
of a debut record and thus the totally mesmerising effect of bowling you
completely over. Carter’s voice is pure Oklahoma red dirt soul and refines its
harshness to such an extent that being melted by the tone sends shivers down
the spine. The ten songs that comprise this album are packed with memorable lines
and are all accompanied by a delicate sound merging subtle twang with that of
quintessential steel. This is a record designed for multiple plays and wearing
it out will never dilute its endearing qualities.
Two key features of Carter Sampson and her new record jumped
straight out when digging a little deeper. Firstly, she is yet another superb
songwriter currently operating out of Oklahoma who is having their music promoted
far and wide. Parker Millsap, John Fulbright and John Moreland are others brought
to mind, with the latter singing backing vocals on some of the tracks. Perhaps it
is Samantha Crain who could provide the travelling light as she regular leaves
her home State for tours of Europe. Of course all classic songwriters from
Oklahoma will always follow in the trail of Woody Guthrie. Referring back to
the opening sentence in this paragraph, the other significant feature on the
album was the production role of Travis Linville, a name immediately springing
to mind due to his association with Hayes Carll.
Further research on Carter Sampson reveals her as the
self-penned ‘Queen of Oklahoma’ and after having a healthy obsession with this
record who can disagree. She tends to operate as a solo songwriter with only two
songs on the album having a co-write status. Themes range from unsurprisingly the
wide spaces of her home environment through a desire to embrace the landscape
via travel, which can be extensive even within this segment of the USA.
A common feeling from indulging in track after track is to quit what you’re
doing and hitch along on this journey fuelled by amazing laid back vibes and
highly descriptive memorable lyrics.
Once again, full commendation must be reserved for the
optimum production handle on the sound giving the breathing space for the songs
to flourish. From the unyielding opener and title track ‘Wilder Side’ flushing out the repeated line ‘Sweet Baby James singing on the radio’ to the marvellous mid-way number ‘Medicine River’ enthusing about the ‘Wichita Mountains’, the songs
are a continual rich stream of engaging offerings. The classy and sassy ‘Highway Rider’ spars with ‘Everything
You Need’, with its road connotations, for my stand out track, but this can
fluctuate with numerous others on any of the multiple listens that the record
demands.
At the start of this review a number of contemporary
performers were name checked, but there is another which continually springs to
mind upon each listen. Think – an indie Miranda Lambert stripped down to her
raw components and the similarities will remain intact for the duration of
WILDER SIDE as a relevant release, which from my perspective is going to be
quite a while.
Continental Song City are putting this record out in Europe
and there is certainly a growing market to appreciate the sounds which fully
incorporate the seamless strands of folk, country and Americana. Perhaps
venturing outside of her usual performing sphere could yield further riches for
Carter, even if only from an experience angle. Folks in the UK would drool over
such a voice and inspirational songs, meeting an insatiable demand for a little
American escapism, while fully understanding that is the real deal life of the
performer.
Just mentioning a few more tracks before signing off, ‘Take Me Home With You’ is an absolutely gorgeous
song which anchors the second half of the album and is closely followed by the
dulcet tones of the next up number ‘Wild
Bird’. In fact there is not a single track which comes across as a
lightweight effort with Carter and her tight knit team deserving every credit.
WILDER SIDE has catapulted itself to the upper echelons of
this year’s releases and lifted Carter Sampson as an artist to take note of on
the international scale. Sometimes the eventual engagement with an artist
outweighs the time taken and this is one damn good Oklahoma singer-songwriter who
has made a significant impression with a super album.