With enormous anticipation, Samiam’s latest release Trips will finally hit shelves. Their last album Whatever’s Got You Down left fans and listeners wanting something more like their 2000 hit record Astray which has been considered one of the best Emo albums of the decade. Now, after a nearly 6 year hiatus, Samiam has come back to deliver a dose of rock so powerful, it will rip your ridiculously tight pants right off.
Trips tries to pick up from where Astray left off and desperately pretends that Whatever’s Got You Down never happened. With that said, a few songs need to be noted here. First, what will surely be the first hit single, “September Holiday” is the driving song that sets the tone for the rest of the album. With an energetic and almost hypnotic beat, it has the feel of a summer vacation long past, yet the lyrics tell a story about the disappearance of a friend or family member. “Dead” takes a look back on better times in the lives of the band. Spacey guitar riffs give the feel of a happier time; one of which will never be coming back. Lastly “El Dorado” entertains the listener with a contagious ballad of a legendary town very close to El Dorado. With its ghostly rhythms and verve-pipe style solos it catches the listener’s attention immediately. The release feels a little bit more experimental as far as the actual guitar playing goes compared to their other albums.
Fans of Astray and listeners of their emo-core style from the late 80’s to late 90’s will find common ground with Trips. It’s a full album of heart-felt songs that gives a genuine sense of wanting what can never be and a needing to feel it all over again. All in all, it’s an almost perfect album to end the summer. There are two songs that felt like filler, but the rest of the album shows that Samiam still has what it takes to kick some emo ass. They say it best in the first track ’80 West’ with the line, “I’ve been away for so long.” They sure have, but it’s nice to see them back in action.
-Chris Meyers-
This post was written by:
Chris Meyers – When Chris Meyers isn’t helping out with writing and conducting interviews with bands, he can be found refusing to giving up his seat to little old ladies on the bus because he’s a jerk. Sometimes.
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