A gentle soul-searching album that will appeal to fans of John Prine and James Taylor.
There are several artists, it seems, who go by the name of Sam Lewis. So, just to be clear, this release, Everything’s Fine, is from the Nashville musician of that name, and it’s his 7th release, following on from 2024’s Superposition. In terms of intention, Lewis, in discussion with studio engineer Joe McMahan, wanted to deliver a sparse recording, in places that might be seen as the case, but there’s still a full sound across this album.
The spirit of John Prine floats above the opener and single Chase the Moon, rhyming couplets and a narrative melodic bounce push along picked and strummed guitar. The song was created around the time of Prine’s passing, so it’s fitting that his influence lives on through this. I know is a more laid-back reflection on self-evaluation, with Lewis’s vocal and melody lines evoking James Taylor. Gentle guitar underscores the singer’s musings about how much, and how little, he knows.
Title track Everything’s Fine appears at track three. It hangs around the duality of that phrase, one that we use when everything is, and isn’t, fine. Strings, drums and soulful guitar add greater texture to the sound before the jazzier Nick Lowe inspired Nothing could break us apart throws a love song into the mix. The subject of romance continues on Old Love, which mixes old-school country rhythms and a beatbox intro for a catchy reflection on the feelings that previous relationships bring up, even when we’ve moved on and are happy with our current lot.
From its name alone, Lishcey’s Retreat evokes the feel of a trad Irish instrumental, and that’s indeed what this acoustic guitar-focused track is, at the pivotal halfway point of the album. The tempo and mood are then jerked upwards with an injection of Jimmy Buffett-esque walking bass and a summery mood and lyrics that skirt around issues of confidence and imposter syndrome – but with a positive outlook.
Musically, The Light is one of the sparsest tracks on the album; washes of sound and resonator guitar serve to highlight the well-matched vocals of Lewis and guest Judy Blank. It’s definitely a case of less being more, a good production choice. It deals with hope, or the hope of hope…
I’ll never be enough for you also treads a path of self-doubt and creates a voice of insecurity and uncertainty in song. Again, the arrangement is suitable, delicate and balanced to reflect the tone of the sentiments.
Penultimate track My life living me moves into 80s west coast pop-revival territory, the band Jellyfish springs to mind in terms of the carefully crafted hooks, west coast instrumentation and melodic shifts within the song. The album then leads out with a cover, Three County Highway, written by the Indigo Girls. Lewis admits that he saw the original as an inspirational touchstone that he hoped would lead him to create something from himself, but in the end, he felt he couldn’t better it, so decided to do his own version, and heartfelt it is too. There’s a passion and soul in Lewis’s voice that shows that this is indeed personal.
Sam Lewis (the Nashville one) has crafted here a gentle but soul-searching album that will likely appeal to fans of the aforementioned John Prine and James Taylor, and that’s pretty good company to be in.
