Premiere: Johanna Samuels, ‘Supposed to Say’

Kevin Bronson on June 29th, 2018

0

You imagine the songs of Johanna Samuels originate in dog-eared diaries, their accounts transformed into life lessons after time and reflection have steadied the hand of the narrator. Samuels, a native New Yorker who grew up in L.A. and has done the coastal back-and-forth once again, released an album, “Double Bind,” in 2014 and two years later followed up with the EP “Home & Dry: Told a Lie.” Her saga continues with the release today of “Supposed to Say,” which like her EP was recorded with Sean O’Brien (Moses Sumney, the National, Harriet). It’s a warm, minimalist song that recalls the literate comportment of Aimee Mann.

“The song was written during a really transitional moment last year,” Samuels says. “I was reflecting on loss and how identity gets so easily braided into partnership. I was pretty devastated when I wrote it, but developing it with Sean and recording with with my dear friends and bandmates was an extremely therapeutic experience. I listen to it now and realize I was growing.”

It’s the first song from a new EP that Samuels will release in August.

||| Stream: “Supposed to Say”