Album Review: Samiam - Trips
There are some bands that have been going for what seems like a lifetime and yet barely break out from the underground. They continue to plug away, producing good albums that have their cult-like following in raptures, but never get the wide approval they deserve. Samiam, the Californian quintet, are one such band. Arguably major success has never been their motivation and they did release two albums on majors in the late 90’s, yet there is still a strong argument to say they have been overlooked.
It’s easy to enthuse over ‘Trips’, when songs such as '80 West' and ‘September Holiday’ are full of energy, and laced with riffs, high-paced drumming and catchy choruses. They are not the only tracks that are astounding. The tracks that carry a more distinctly Gainesville-sound (for want of a better term) are also brilliant. ‘Did You Change’ has some brilliant Small Brown Bike-esque guitar work, along with droning vocals and the kind of grit you would expect from such comparisons. ‘How Would You Know’ carries a similar stomp to it, utilizing the punk standard “woahs” and even a midway guitar solo, something the band displays on a couple of tracks.
Samiam are surprisingly at their best on the two most commercial tracks on the album. ‘Clean Up The Mess’ has a strikingly addictive chorus, and is vaguely reminiscent of the energy Against Me! brought to the table in their earlier work. Most surprising of all though is track ‘Free Time’, which despite sounding like the Foo Fighters, flaws anything else on the album. It is fast-paced, has a decent chorus and plenty of energy, and is complimented beautifully by the level of the bass in the mix.
There are some duff tracks on ‘Trips’ as well. Closer ‘Happy For You’ is a lovelorn semi-acoustic ballad, which sounds so out of place and is about two minutes too long. ‘Magellan’ is another track that has little to offer and will undoubtedly pass most by. On the whole ‘Trips’ is more good than bad but could be the album that grabs a new audience.
4/5
‘Trips’ is released September 6th through Hopeless Records.
Dan Issitt
