Album Review :
Samecity - "Lowlands"

By in Reviews | 1 Comment

Label: Independent
Release Date: January 30, 2018

Tracklisting:

  1. Castaway
  2. Rock Bottom
  3. Lights Go Down
  4. 90’s Van Swag
  5. Lowlands

Nashville, TN is known for a number of things, but the thing that tops the list is music. If you were to walk down Broadway, each restaurant and bar you pass has live music going on, all of it diverse. It’s on street corners as buskers play their hearts out for little more than the love of the music and the heart to share it with others.

One band that stands out in the middle of all of this is Samecity. Samecity is a pop rock outfit that formed in 2014 and draw influences from a variety of sources, some of which include Needtobreathe, Switchfoot, and The Civil Wars. The band has three eps under its belt; “There’s An Ocean” was released in 2015, “Afterglow” in 2016, and most recently “Lowlands” Jan 30, 2018, just a couple weeks ago.

“Lowlands” is definitely a fun album and quite diverse. The ep kicks off with a track called “Castaway”, which is probably my favorite off this ep. A call to ignore what other people have to say and focusing on God’s call, the track has a feel to it somewhere in between what you might expect to hear in a jazz club in one of those older movies and a chorus with something of a contemporary country feel to it. The first verse, for some reason or another, reminds me a bit of Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz. Overlay all of that with the soulful, smooth vocals of Hannah Bowersox and its kind hard not to listen to this one on repeat at least a few times.

“Rock Bottom” has quite a bit of a drive to it and is an all around good rock song of thankfulness for God’s presence and love in even the toughest of times “You were there, when I hit rock bottom, You gave me life when I hit rock bottom”. The track features Justin and Hannah both on vocals this time around and their voices really complement each other well. This is seen on the following track, “Lights Go Down” as well, a song about standing strong in the face of adversity, not just putting on a good front in front of others, but in the times you’re alone and it’s just you.

“90’s Van Swag” is probably the poppiest track on the album, due largely in part to the synth throughout the song and the faster paced drums in the choruses.

“Lowlands”, the album’s title track, closes the album out with a laid-back feel and is an encouragement not to give up when things get tough; “’Cause when life gets inconvenient, don’t you throw in the towel”.

“Lowlands”, the third offering from Samecity, is an album you don’t want to skip on. The songs are encouraging, the music is well written and catchy, and the vocals are spot on. Hannah’s vocals especially shine on this album with a soulfulness that’s hard to come by these days and is sure to grab your attention. I highly recommend checking this album out as “Lowlands” is sure to please.

You can find Samecity on Facebook here and purchase their music at the links below.

 

https://samecitymusic.squarespace.com/merch/

Itunes

 

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Daniel J
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Daniel J
February 11, 2018 7:31 am

Solid. Thanks for sharing this. Castaway is a great song, and I wouldn’t have heard of this group otherwise.

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