Samantha Fierke, OK Samaritan among latest Columbia locals to release quality music
Columbia never ceases making music, sending out sound waves from mid-Missouri to the greater Midwest and beyond.
Several Columbia-forged artists recently loosed new work into the atmosphere. From jazz in perpetual motion to different shades of indie rock, each of these efforts deserves attention from your ears.
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Samantha Fierke, "Mirage"
Don't call Samantha Fierke a rising star in the jazz world — the Columbia native sings constellations.
Each note Fierke sings on their new album "Mirage" resembles a star plotted against an endless indigo canopy. Some notes make up bold, towering images; others settle into gently radiant groups.
Currently a student at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, the singer-composer projects worldly wisdom across these eight tracks. And Fierke owns a dialed-in vocal style — rooted in tradition yet carrying fire from one moment to the very next — that evokes artists such as Madeleine Peyroux and Champian Fulton.
"Kick it Loose" opens the set and lives up to its name. Over soulful electric piano, agile bass and skittering drums, Fierke takes total command of the frenetic melody, delivering what feels like ten thousand notes yet making each one matter.
First seasoned with staccato, then later ironed smooth, Fierke's tune perfectly frames lyrics about the mad dash to keep up with modern life.
"I Remember Butterflies" follows, establishing a wholly different mood. The song swings sweet and low, dancing through the space it's given and extending the notion that Fierke can sing just about anything.
Later, sashaying rhythms frame Fierke's voice as they sound out the aspiration to be swallowed in color on "Color Me"; the song is shot through with a lovely golden light. Soft, chiming keys introduce the title track, where Fierke moves effortlessly up and down the scale, mesmerizing listeners through the power of melody.
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Perhaps the album's truest standout, "When People Speak" is a gentle revelation; Fierke interweaves multiple vocal tracks, engaging their own lines in conversation. The arrangement weds shimmering atmospherics with an understated groove, freeing the song to swirl around the listener. Fierke's fugue-like vocals eventually return to generate a sort of quiet bliss.
Fierke owns each second of "Mirage" — nothing is wasted. Backed by a remarkable band that empowers them to chase the muses, Fierke and Co. create a multi-faceted jazz gem.
Key tracks: "Color Me," "Mirage," "When People Speak"
OK Samaritan, "Staleboat"
Serious rock 'n' roll alchemy animates the latest from Columbia rock outfit OK Samaritan.
Members Jaeson Longday (vocals, guitar), Devin Burrow (guitar, synths), Kyle Day (bass) and Noel Feldman (drums) fuse strains of classic rock, indie rock, power pop and prog-leaning sounds. But rather than busy the aesthetic, this intertwining allows the band to access something pure and powerful.
"Staleboat" repurposes three cuts from the band's 2020 EP "Wobble Top," creating a rocksteady nine-song set around them. Laying sublime melodies over nimble, deceptively heavy instrumentals, OK Samaritan lands somewhere in the neighborhood of OK Go, Band of Horses or The Cars — had they formed in the 21st century.
The band starts with pedal firmly on the floor on opener "Enterprise"; guitars crush, then clear room for lyrics that skewer late capitalism. As with many OK Samaritan songs, the storm rumbles, then recedes, creating dynamic patterns.
Thoughtful contrast also arrives with the very next track; effervescing synths re-introduce "Stand Down," a "Wobble Top" track. The song is long and lean with an elastic groove and pleading melody.
Delightful wordless vocals chime "Doot Doot (DootDootDoot)" into being; the track expands and contracts before the band eventually unleashes soaring guitars over an active rhythm section. "Another Room" also highlights bass and drums, achieving a Queens of the Stone Age-like drive.
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"Wheel" ranks among the brightest lights here, its razor-sharp riff leading the band in a sprightly direction, the song bouncing on its heels. Unfolding over seven minutes, closer "Thoms" is somehow airtight and slippery, atmospheric yet marked by arena-ready guitar heroics.
Throughout "Staleboat," OK Samaritan never seems to worry about pleasing everyone — yet that's exactly what the quartet does, reaching out to nearly every corner of rock, driven solely by instinct and mutual influence.
Key tracks: "Stand Down," "Another Room," "Wheel"
Singles and other local music delights
With the project Telepathy Club, local artist Jimmie Atchley crafts smoldering indie rock that finds "beauty in dissonance" as the lyric for "Trying" acknowledges. "Trying" is one of two recent singles from Telepathy Club — taken together, they form a portrait of the thoughtful musical mood Atchley is establishing.
"Trying" grows from ambient noise and a soft electronic pulse; piano leads the minimalist arrangement, creating space for Atchley's soft-spoken reflections. With "I Should Have Known," Atchley works from a darkly rich palette of guitar tones and effects to create a slow-burning ode to regret.
Hear more of Atchley's work at https://telepathyclub.bandcamp.com/.
And as July keeps winding forward, keep an eye out for these upcoming local shows: The Fried Crawdaddies July. 16 at Cooper's Landing; Compass Music Camp Showcase July 17 at The Blue Note; The Kay Brothers' Summer Fish Fry July 23 at Rose Park; Meredith Shaw July 24 at The Blufftop in Rocheport; Rae Fitzgerald, Ripped Genes and New Car Scent July 27 at Cafe Berlin; Sifa July 29 at Cafe Berlin; Soul Sessions July 30 at The Blue Note.
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. Find him on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Samantha Fierke, OK Samaritan among latest locals to release quality music
