A refreshing throwback with commanding vocals. 

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The website for Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar – a self-defined ‘roots ‘n’ roll’ group based in Toronto – makes the following statement about their sophomore release, Run To Me: ‘The lyrics are incisive, the melodies are constantly arresting and the harmonies and arrangements call up the best of the soul sounds of Stax Records and such contemporary artists as Leon Bridges, Sharon Jones, and Lee Fields.’

It is rare that I agree with marketing copy. Yet, from the first flash of guitar on opening track ‘You’re The Love’, I was immediately swept up by the group’s mesh of soul and blues. The Stax influences are there, but the material to me recalled the swampy, jagged sounds of Creedence Clearwater Revival too. Like a good whiskey, Martin’s vocals have both a dryness and sweetness in tone. Her rasp is ear-candy,  but it is never over-used and her delivery is full of nuance.

Run To Me comprises ten original songs, written either solely by Martin or with fellow singer-songwriters Curtis Chaffey and Suzie Vinnick. On lead single ‘All Night Long’, Martin calls out her lover’s secret absences to a very Staple Singers-esque arrangement bubbling with organ. She reflects on repeating the same mistakes in love on ‘Will We Ever Learn’, an elegant ballad recalling the confessional songwriting of Carole King. The more middle of the road cuts (‘Gonna Find It’, ‘Good Trouble’, and ‘Over You’) are less compelling but are nonetheless tightly constructed and well-performed.

In sentiment, the bluesy ‘Wanna Be Your Lover’ evokes the Kris Kristofferson-penned ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’. In both songs, the narrator yearns for sexual intimacy . While this desire stems from the narrator’s insecurity and brokenness in the Kristofferson ballad, ‘Wanna Be Your Lover’ comes from a perspective of raw amorous desire. ‘You don’t need to put a ring on it / Baby just put your back into it / Cause I just want to be your lover’, Martin croons.

‘Chasing Dreams’ is clearly the centrepiece of Run To Me. Thematically, it marks a departure from the bulk of the material; it does not deal with the vicissitudes of love, but rather the occasional loneliness and pressures inherent in working as a musician. ‘Forgive me if I find / This world a little lonely sometimes’, she cries, supported by the punch of the horns.

The overall aesthetic is organic and earthy. Martin’s ‘co-singers’, Sherie Marshall and Stacy Tabb, blend beautifully against Martin’s rasp. The horns, keyboards, and guitars provide heaps of gospel-tinged pleasure.

(Image copyright: Samantha Martin Music)