Sam Evian - Time to Melt Review
The musicianship, the production, the message – everything there for old and new fans to enjoy, and as his first for Fat Possum, there will be plenty more to come from Sam Evian.
“My friends are crunching numbers in the city but I ran away”, sings Sam Evian on the rapturous single Easy to Love. The sentiment is one I’m sure many can relate to, and perhaps dream of – but for Evian, it’s a reality. Real name Sam Owens, he recently swapped the grind of New York City and decamped to the Catskills to set up a recording studio, live in a forest, and produce music. Bliss. His third offering, Time to Melt, is filled with woozy instrumentals, chewy guitar riffs, and socio-political proclamations. It is equal parts a response to his new dreamy environment as it is a reflection on the demanding one he left.
Opening with ‘Freezee Pops’, Evian starts as he means to go on. The lyric deal with police brutality and the prison-industrial complex, as a funky bass and a scratchy acoustic guitar underlay a string section that wouldn’t be amiss in a 70s detective thriller. The soulful, soft-rock vibe continues on ‘Dream Free’, where partner and collaborator Hannah Cohen takes the lead vocal. The title track comes with the woozy guitar chords, drum machine, and deep bass – the vintage Rhythm King which Owens stated was the basis for almost all of the songs – in a laid-back disco stomp that pervades the whole record. ‘Knock Knock’, another single, has the straight-talking, power to the people sort of social commentary found on the classic soul records of Marvin Gaye or Syl Johnson, pierced with jabs of the saxophone, and the wonderful sound of a Rhodes piano to match.
The 70s soul and funk influences are never clearer than on ‘Arnold’s Place’ and ‘Sunshine’, before we’re met with an irresistible guitar lick in ‘Never Know’ that Evian had previewed on his Instagram before release, starting of a chain of fans videoing it and playing it back. ‘Lonely Days’ hears Evian try to convince himself that ‘lonely days are gone’, before a saxophone solo that cries like a foghorn. Owens had previously gained a saxophone scholarship to the infamous Berklee Music School in New York, where he was among a talented generation of students – namely Adrianne Lenker and Nick Hakim – before dropping out.
Time To Melt ends with probably the only let-down. An almost hip-hop-like instrumental with samples and vocal recordings sent to him by fans during the pandemic. Sentimental, and with some sad stories involved if you listen closely, it perhaps feels like an unnecessary addition to what is an extremely accomplished album. The musicianship, the production, the message – everything there for old and new fans to enjoy, and as his first for Fat Possum, there will be plenty more to come from Sam Evian.