SAM AMIDON - Bright Sunny South

As fans of Sam since the pair of albums he recorded for Iceland's Bedroom Community label (2008's All Is Well and 2010's I See The Sign), we were very excited to hear of his signing to Nonesuch; similar to the case of Devendra Banhart's impressive effort for them earlier this year with Mala, Amidon has stepped up to the major-label plate and delivered what could be his best record yet, with thoughtful, sparse arrangements and a set of adaptations (both trad and not-so-trad) sung with graceful restraint.

"Throughout the record, there’s an underlying tension between what Amidon is singing and the means of his delivery—a melancholic feeling allowed to take root in the spaces between the thin arrangements...The result is his most emotionally and tonally complex LP to date. With Bright Sunny South, Amidon has taken a huge step forward as a folk artist, creating arrangements which preserve his musicianship, while deepening the maturity of his interpretive skills." - Drowned In Sound

"Amidon describes Bright Sunny South as a 'a lonesome record' and a return to the more spare sound of his 2007 self-recorded debut, But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted: 'There was an atmospheric quality to my last two records; those albums are like a garden of sounds,' says Amidon, 'but this one is more of a journey, a winding path. The band comes rushing in and then they disappear. It comes from more of a darker, internal space.'" - Nonesuch