Sam Owens’ Recipe for Timelessness

Sam Owens: How To Build A Clock

Samuel Guthrie Owens is a graphic artist and musician from Seattle.  His art and music are comfortably inexorable and emit an atmosphere of calm confidence.  He must be an old soul.  Having lain somewhat low while honing his craft – he has produced at least three albums of material that are not widely available – his debut, How To Build A Clock, is an excellent collection of instantly likable, mellow rock tunes. The opening track, ‘See You’, sounds like Saucerful Of Secrets-era Pink Floyd, with a playful harpsichord melody & the dreamy falsetto reprise, ‘I want to see you again’.  Other tunes evoke the British Invasion: ‘Waiting for the Train’ mimics the bouncy melody of The Kinks’ ‘A Well Respected Man’ while following a wandering but observant mind; ‘Another Day’ manages a wisp of inspiration that barely rises above xylophone and acoustic guitar, but transcends when multi-tracked vocals appear towards the end of the song; ‘That’s No Way to Leave’ is a flip send off built around electronic piano and organ that ends at 1:46 just as it piques your interest.  Other songs display strong connection to roots rock (e.g. ‘Testify’ and ‘Red Is the Color’), while some of the strongest tracks are ostensibly pure Sam Owens: the off-kilter, guitar-driven rambler ‘What Was His Name?’ and the beautiful instrumental ‘Sad Day Guitar (Variation II)’.  This record is deep and sublime.

Check Out:Sam Owens – How To Build A Clock [mp3]

Stream or buy the entire album here:

SCORE: 91
Lyrics: 17/20
Composition: 19/20
Musicianship: 18/20
Production: 18/20
Intangibles: 19/20

–
Craig