Salt River (album)

Last updated

Salt River
Sam Amidon - Salt River.png
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 24, 2025 (2025-01-24)
Genre
Length43:42
Label River Lea
Producer Sam Gendel [2]
Sam Amidon chronology
Sam Amidon
(2020)
Salt River
(2025)
Singles from Salt River
  1. "I'm On My Journey Home"
    Released: October 24, 2024
  2. "Friends and Neighbors"
    Released: December 12, 2024
  3. "Golden Willow Tree"
    Released: January 21, 2025

Salt River is the ninth studio album by American singer Sam Amidon. It was released on January 24, 2025, via River Lea Records. [3] It is Amidon's first album release since his 2020 eponymous album, Sam Amidon.

Contents

Background

Salt River was produced by American saxophonist Sam Gendel. [2] It features the singles "I'm On My Journey Home", [4] "Friends and Neighbors", [5] and "Golden Willow Tree", [6] which were released on October 24, 2024, December 12, 2024, and January 21, 2025, respectively. Amidon described it as "a campfire, but the campfire is around Sam Gendel's synthesizer". [2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Skinny Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Pitchfork Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
MusicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Hot Press Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]

The Observer rated the album three stars out of five, stating "As a domestic get-together, the album’s enjoyable enough, but actual magic is in short supply," [7] while music website AllMusic described it as "trippy, bucolic, sophisticated, and simple, like a dream about a folksong." [8] The Skinny added that "Salt River blurs the boundary between tradition and modernity," giving it four stars out of five. [3] Pitchfork gave the album a rating of 7.3 out of 10 and wrote that "overall, this is another fine example of Amidon’s capacious, bracingly simple definition of the genre yoked to him." [1] London-based magazine MusicOMH described Salt River as "another successful example of Amidon drawing on his folk upbringing and creating something very much on his own terms," and gave it a rating of 3.5 out of 5. [9] Will Russell of the Dublin-based magazine, Hot Press , gave a rating of eight out of ten to the album and remarked "vintage effort from US folk merchant." [10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Salt River track listing.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Oldenfjord"Grey Larsen1:45
2."Three Five"4:18
3."Big Sky" Lou Reed 3:59
4."Tavern"
  • Amidon
  • Gendel
  • Philippe Melanson
3:14
5."Golden Willow Tree"Traditional7:36
6."I'm on My Journey Home"Traditional4:16
7."Ask the Elephant" Yoko Ono 2:01
8."Cusseta"
  • Traditional
  • Amidon
  • Gendel
5:51
9."Friends and Neighbors" Ornette Coleman 6:02
10."Never"
  • Traditional
  • Amidon
4:41
Total length:43:42

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Howe, Brian (January 27, 2025). "Sam Amidon: Salt River". Pitchfork . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Pearis, Bill (December 12, 2024). "Sam Amidon preps new LP Salt River, playing release shows, shares Ornette Coleman cover". BrooklynVegan . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Gamble, Patrick (January 21, 2025). "Sam Amidon album review: Salt River". The Skinny . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  4. Gallacher, Alex (October 24, 2024). "Sam Amidon shares 'I'm On My Journey Home' from his new album 'Salt River'". KLOF Magazine . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  5. Gallacher, Alex (December 12, 2024). "Sam Amidon shares new single 'Friends and Neighbors'". KLOF Magazine. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  6. Pickard, Joshua (January 21, 2025). "Sam Amidon adapts folk antiquity on the breathtaking "Golden Willow Tree"". Beats Per Minute . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Spencer, Neil (January 25, 2025). "Sam Amidon: Salt River review – an eclectic if erratic affair". The Observer . ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Donelson, Marcy. "Salt River - Sam Amidon". AllMusic . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Murphy, John (January 24, 2025). "Sam Amidon - Salt River". MusicOMH . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Russell, Will (January 24, 2025). "Album Review: Sam Amidon, Salt River". Hot Press . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Salt River (Media notes). Sam Amidon. River Lea Records. January 24, 2025.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)