Staff Reviews

Sam & Me - The Battle Of Hemsby

Review by Neil Ashman

Sam and Me are a songwriting duo who settled upon their rather straightforward name after playing together for over ten years unde»

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'the battle of hemsby' is the budget-priced debut album from brighton's sam and me. having left their seaside beginnings 5 years ago, they arrived in london (via manchester) and have been gigging and recording in various forms ever since. starting out as a duo, they presented their well-crafted songs in a simon and garfunkel / everly brothers vocal harmony which is clearly evident on this album. what is different now is that the melodies and guitars have been complimented by piano, violin, accordion and percussion and the acoustic songs interspersed with a potent blend of frequency filling soundscapes taking in influences from the flaming lips, super furries, early lemonheads and most notably elliott smith's heatmiser. 'the battle of hemsby' is so-called because sam and rowan used to bunk off college and drive out to a chalet owned by rowan's grandad in the dead- end norfolk coastal town of hemsby. the album is packaged with images from hemsby itself and the first 500 copies come with a chip fork and unique polaroid from the album shoot.
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