Sam Amidon - modern folk with a twist

I know nothing about this fellow, Sam Amidon, but his latest self-titled album has really grabbed me. Psych/shoegaze folk? Traditional folk through a hazy, gauzy sound. Quite compelling.

Tell me more, how do his previous releases compare to this new one?

I really liked his album ”All is well.” Great folk voice. Saw him play a show in a local church with Nico Muhly about ten years ago. Haven’t followed him since

I'd especially recommend Bright Sunny South, his first for Nonesuch back in 2013--that's my personal fave front-to-back album of his (not sure if it was actually the single, but Track 2 on it, "I Wish I Wish", is the one from it that I still get stuck in my head all the time).

I'm a big fan of 'I See The Sign' from 2010, he also features on this amazing Nico Muhly piece (I'm a big Nico stan) called The Only Tune, the third movement of which is especially beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN4R13k7UjE

This documentary is also kinda fun -

https://vimeo.com/31375662

^ Yup, great feature on that Nico M. album--an inspired Einstein In The Hayloft move

There's another thread, using the name he used to record under, but I think this new one will be easier to find!

Samamidon - all is well

I love this man because it sounds like Kermit the Frog.

Also, the current world doesn’t deserve Nico Muhly.

Agree with both sentiments, I've been revisiting I See The Sign a lot recently, after watching this documentary.

https://vimeo.com/31375662

Really digging Salt River, his latest. I'd never heard his stuff before, looks like a big back catalog to check out.

Chicken, All Is Well and I See The Sign are a hat trick imo

His version of "Saro" (on All is Well) has forever been one of my favourite recordings ever made

I'd forgotten that album (All is Well) has Eyvind Kang and Ben Frost on it! (Other thing about that album: his cover photo looks so much like a mate's kid; it's like he's been frozen in amber and it freaks me out every time I see it)

The Nico Muhly arrangements on All Is Well are gorgeous

^ otm

An interesting thing about the All Is Well cover is the red marks on Sam's chest and back. Iirc he had somebody (Thomas?) clap against him for 15 minutes before the photo was taken. Ah to be in one's 20s again

parts of the new one remind me of the short-lived early 2000's 'folktronica' thing.

For sure--the rewriting/rearrangement of Lou Reed's "Big Sky" is esp great in that way.
Highly recommend the work of his collaborators Sam Gendel and Philippe Melanson, whether together on their Nonesuch LP Satin Doll or apart (the three Gendel/Wilkes albums, the Blake Mills/Pino Palladino album; Bernice, the most recent Eric Chenaux album where Phil plays digital drum kit)

xp perhaps worth mentioning that he is married to Beth Orton, who was perhaps the first musician to whom the label "folktronica" was applied.

Totally--I'd never listened to Trailer Park until a couple years ago, holy crap it holds up

Never heard of him before I saw him performing recently with Michael Keegan-Dolan, which was pretty mind blowing. I feel like the effect would have been lessened if I was familiar with the songs already (I've since realised they are mostly or all off his previous albums).

Trailer here gives a flavour of the choreography/staging but the music is for some reason nothing like the music that features throughout (amidon performs most onstage)

https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/michael-keegan-dolan-teac-damsa-nobodaddy/

I own "I See The Sign" and may well have decided I don't need to own anything else by him. I can be contrary like that.

For sure--the rewriting/rearrangement of Lou Reed's "Big Sky" is esp great in that way.

ha, didn't even know this was a Lou Reed number.