Fresh Friday: The Sammies

I was going to write about a different band today, but then a little email arrived in my inbox reminding me of a band I fell in love with last fall. The group still hasn’t been receiving the adoration they deserve, so there will be a slight change in plans.

When I was little, I listened to a lot of Randy Travis, Dolly Parton, Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen. This was just what my parents were into. And driving around with them, you could always hear my little voice coming from the back seat singing, “Island’s industry, that is what they are!” Believe me, even with the wrong lyrics, it was adorable.

If I could describe to you the sound of The Sammies, it would be a mixture of all those country and rock artists I so fondly remember from my childhood, tinged with some of my not so lost, youthful exuberance. The Sammies are part of the retro-country sound that saw a widespread popularity with The White Stripes and continues on with the younger generation of O’death, Catfish Haven and Illinois. Their NYC show over seven months ago still stands as one of the handful of performances I would count amongst the best of 2006. I came in to see them not knowing a thing and walked away an over enthused fan.

I am not going to tell you to start listening to this band to get ahead of the curve; instead, you should give it a listen because I said so. I kid. You should listen because it is just hands down great music made by a group of lovable, earnest musicians.

MP3s: 'Falling Out' and 'Caretaker'