EP Review: Fly Bird Fly

Samantha Josephine’s six-track Fly Bird Fly EP is less than 13 minutes long, but in many ways that makes total sense, as there is a feeling within this that we are being allowed into a secret and very personal world and that it would be intrusive to stay for too long. One can imagine Samantha performing in a corner, hoping that no-one will see or hear her, and when I read in her bio that only her girlfriend has seen her perform in the last year, and that even she is not allowed to be around when Samantha is writing, then it makes perfect sense. Imagine Lou Reed, Jonathan Richman and Patti Smith combined into a single entity, who is an introvert with (often) a single strummed electric guitar, and then you may just be getting close to what this is like.

There is a naïve, crude simplicity here which is refreshing and inviting, and is so far away from the mainstream created pop scene as to be on another planet altogether. It is music which sounds as if it has come out of the art rock punk scene from mid-Seventies New York, and CBGB’s, daring to be different and challenging listeners to accept something which is out of the norm. Her vocals have a restrained passion within them, almost as if she is not wanting to push herself onto the listeners, and there is definitely a reservation behind all she does. It is this which makes this such an interesting collection of songs. Lyrically we get girl meet girl stories, but we also get an ode to Morning Toast, and this is a lovely summary of her style, where Samantha is so inside herself it is almost as if she wants to be anywhere but behind a microphone with a guitar.

To have a performer who is so removed from the frantic “look at me” mentality of so many in the scene is very unusual indeed, and she feels fragile and vulnerable, bearing herself for all to see. This means that even though the songs are inherently simple, and on one level quite plain, there is also a depth and self-awareness within that makes them incredibly addictive. This will not be for everyone, but for those who are prepared to listen to this a few times, you may just be surprised at how much you come to enjoy it.