This is Sam Amidon's time,I think...ideas by the bucketful,growing technique,fearless expression...all these things coming together now.
These 'field recordings': aural notebooks,if you will,are Sam on the hoof...unfettered and unrestrained in his quest to move his music on to new territory.
It is 'old' music yet new at the same time...this paradigm gives the music great presence and freshness...but it is also avant in a way: disparate ideas and musical styles merging (Sam's vocal ideas are really interesting in terms of texture,I think).
So,mostly jottings and sketches (there are two longer pieces)...this is Sam trying out ideas, but they are alive and vibrant.
I admire the rawness and the unfinished ethos...it just lets the talent and the ideas surface.
Once again,Lightning Records go for quality and not quantity...always a pleasure. John Cratchley
Recorded in Oakland, “After the Rain” pays tribute to the spirit and sound of John Coltrane in its deft, melodic tunes. Bandcamp New & Notable May 18, 2019