Kevin Bronson on April 13th, 2023

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Singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels stares down her demons with verve on “Ugly on the Inside,” the lead track on her forthcoming sophomore album, “Bystander.”

The album, made with producer by Josh Kaufman of Bonny Light Horseman and the follow-up to 2021’s “Excelsior!,” is out June 23.

Reminiscent of the songcraft of Molly Burch, Aimee Mann and Jesca Hoop (among others), Samuels wields her bright, lithe vocals as a repellent for a fickle friend. “I’m spitting ink like venom,” she nonchalants.

“This song is a combination of both my inner demons and some experiences that shook me emotionally,” Samuels says. “I can’t control the fact that unkind self-talk, thoughts and fears always have the capacity to emerge. This was the beginning of me learning to surrender to all of it and let it pass through and make space for quiet and joy. In many ways, it’s a song about owning yourself and coming into your own power.”

Samuels portrays multiple selves in director Jon J. Lee’s video. He explains: “I was at a coffee shop while in development for this, and a group of guys entered. Even though they all dressed uniquely — one like a frat boy, the second like an artist, another in his pajamas and the last in a business-y collared shirt — they had this connected energy, as though they were four different versions of the same person. Immediately a lightbulb went off in my head: Let’s make a music video with four versions of Johanna, each representing a different part of her psyche.”

||| Watch: The video for “Ugly on the Inside”

||| Live: Johanna Samuels opens for Fruit Bats on May 11 at the Theatre at Ace Hotel (tickets). She celebrates her album release with a headlining show July 8 at Zebulon (tickets).

||| Previously: “Valentine’s Day Is Stupid,” “Excelsior!,” “All Is Fine,” “High Tide for One,” “Supposed to Say,” “The Beast”