Sam Lunsford

Jacco Gardner has been getting some well-deserved attention this year, after his debut LP Cabinet of Curiosities came out. Hopefully the same will apply to Sam Lunsford, who I’ve already featured with his band The Young Sinclairs. Around Christmas last year however, he too released his first, self-titled solo album. Available digitally and on cassette from his own label Mystic Fortress, it’s an incredibly strong release from both a song-writing and a recording techique perspective. 10 out of the 11 songs were recorded by Sam in his own analogue studio, and the production sounds every bit as refined and perfected as on an Emitt Rhodes album. On this album he gets more experimental than on the Young Sinclairs material, incorporating elements of light psychedelia, soft-rock and some allround good Zombies-vibes. Lengthy opening track “All About the Love” impresses, as well as the single choice “Just Wanted to Help” which you can watch a video for over at his website. Listen below, to the gently haunting closing track “Haven’t Got the Time” on which Lunsford manages to sound like Richard Ashcroft if he’d been a Nick Drake enthusiast, and then stream the rest on bandcamp.