Sam Isaac - Bears

The hotly anticipated debut album from Malvern’s Sam Isaac has been a long time coming. His name has graced the lips of music lovers and industry moguls alike for the last 12 months or so and he has been gaining increasing airplay with a flurry of singles and also a solid reputation on the UK live circuit thanks to non-stop touring, even putting his stamp on the world map with recent jaunts to SXSW Festival in Texas, and New York, to name but a few.

Recorded and produced by Dan Swift of Aqualung and Snow Patrol fame, ‘Bears’ is jam-packed with indie-pop gems galore, which will delight current fans and new listeners alike. Title track and opener ‘Bears’ glides in with dreamy synths, subtly drawing a comparison from The Who’s ‘Baba O’Reilly’ – the synth remains a focal point of the song even when it transforms into a beefy guitar infused indie-pop anthem. A strange comparison perhaps, considering the genres are almost worlds apart, but an interesting one nonetheless.

Fan favourites ‘Come Back Home Tonight’ and ‘Fire, Fire’ are chorus-heavy, fast paced anthems, proving that Sam can handle fast-tempo songs as capably as the mid-to-slow tempo songs, whilst ‘Annie, Why Are You So Angry?’ is another synth-laden offering and wouldn’t sound out of place in a Nintendo game. It sometimes overwhelms in places taking away the focus of the track, leaving you straining to engage with all of the other layers going on.

‘Sideways’ is the second re-recording of the track, which has featured as a single and on the ‘Sticker, Star and Tape’ EP and mini-album. It’s beefier and bigger than its predecessors, and it is a true showcase of how far Sam has come musically since the days of recording demos in his bedroom. It’s challenging vocally, much like ‘Annie…’, but Sam more than shows that he can handle those higher registers with ease. A well-executed string section adds lushness to proceedings.

‘Berlin’ and ‘Carbon Dating’ showcase Sam’s folk influences and his capability of writing a good melody. ‘Berlin’ is virtuoustic from a vocal point of view, really enabling Sam to stretch the boundaries for himself vocally. The combination of a horn and string sections adds a real warmth to the track. ‘Carbon Dating’ is a stomping folk tune, complete with gang vocals to boot, providing a real organic perspective to the whole album. ‘Calendar’ sports an interesting measure change at the end of the track, shifting from a run-of-the-mill track into a bass-heavy jaunty folk number.

‘What Good Did That Do’ is a stripped down, honest, bares-all account of the break down of a relationship. It is complimented with a string section which really builds on the emotion of the song. Isaac sings with real heartfelt passion. Lyrically, it’s reflective and not bitter, and there’s no hint of whininess unlike some of Isaac’s song writing counterparts.

Overall, the album delivers on all levels. It is pleasing on the ear and each song is strong enough in its own right not to be labelled as a filler track or a stopgap release. Some may argue that there is a lack of new material, however, the songs are popular amongst fans, and the reworkings are strong, and add a new twist to the old material. Regardless of what anyone says, Sam Isaac is definitely destined for a bright future.