(3/6/5) 029: Johanna Samuels - A Little Longer (Premiere)
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The 2020's have been a steady time for Johanna Samuels releases. First came 2021's beautiful Excelsior! LP, a deeply personal affair with extra warmth provided by friends Courtney Marie Andrews, Hannah Cohen, Lomelda’s Hannah Read, A.O. Gerber and Olivia Kaplan who joined Samuels at various points across the record.
Then came a five-song EP at the tail-end of 2022, which was swiftly followed in the summer of 2023 with another full-length, the rich and absorbing Bystander. Recorded as a duo with Bonny Light Horseman's Josh Kaufman, it also featured Matt Barick (The Walkmen, Fleet Foxes) who played drums across the whole thing.
All of which is to say that Samuels has both a heap of clout and a deep well of songs, and continues to bless the world with both those things. Which brings us neatly onto brand new song 'A Little Longer', another gorgeous, hazy pop song, lifted from a brand new EP called First and the Last, which is all set for release June 21.
Recorded with musician and multi-instrumentalist Jordan Lehning - who has worked as a producer and arranger with the likes of Kasey Musgraves, Justin Townes Earl, and Caitlin Rose - Samuels defines the EP as embracing a new sense of "fierceness" she found within herself over the past year. "I think the music is reflective of it in tone," Samuels explains. "The recordings were also extremely joyful to create. There was a profound amount of laughing and hamming in the studio and I can only hope that comes thru to its listeners in this collection as well. I hope that these songs are interpreted with a sense of levity and joy as they explore the more nuanced elements of love and self."
Accompanied with a sun-soaked and stirring video, directed by Paige Stark, 'A Little Longer' is the first taste of the new recordings and it finds Samuels at her soulful best, a sumptuous musical backdrop upon which she elegantly drapes her enigmatic voice. There's freedom and feeling here, splashes of both light and dark, the melancholy ache of a sweet and memorable day drawing to its inevitable end.
The song was written during a sustained period of time during which there was a lot of sitting in the unknown. I felt in the dark in many ways. My heart felt like it was tossed in the air and wouldn’t land for a little over a year. It brought up countless opportunities to hone the skill of re-centering and letting go of control. Jordan Lehning and I wrote this song together quickly a few weeks before recording and both agreed immediately that “Revolver” was our go-to sound pallet to emulate… songs never turn out exactly like what you’re paying homage to because we’re all unique. I love that.
As beautiful as always, we're very pleased to premiere the new song and video for you on three/six/five today. Check it out below right now.
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Pre-order the EP over on Bandcamp now, released via Jealous Butcher
three / six / five is a daily music-sharing project from gold flake paint; read more about the idea here
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