Salt River (album)

Last updated
Salt River
Sam Amidon - Salt River.png
Studio album by
Sam Amidon
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

No.TitleLength
1."Oldenfjord"1:45
2."Three Five"4:18
3."Big Sky"3:59
4."Tavern"3:14
5."Golden Willow Tree"7:36
6."I'm On My Journey Home"4:16
7."Ask The Elephant"2:01
8."Cusseta"5:51
9."Friends And Neighbors"6:02
10."Never"4:41
Total length:43:42

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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 (21 January 2025). "Sam Amidon album review: Salt River". The Skinny . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  4. Gallacher, Alex (2024-10-24). "Sam Amidon shares 'I'm On My Journey Home' from his new album 'Salt River'". KLOF Magazine . Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  5. Gallacher, Alex (2024-12-12). "Sam Amidon shares new single 'Friends and Neighbors'". KLOF Magazine. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  6. Pickard, Joshua (2025-01-21). "Sam Amidon adapts folk antiquity on the breathtaking "Golden Willow Tree"". Beats Per Minute . Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  7. 1 2 Spencer, Neil (2025-01-25). "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 (24 January 2025). "Sam Amidon - Salt River". MusicOMH . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Russell, Will (24 January 2025). "Album Review: Sam Amidon, Salt River". Hot Press . Retrieved January 29, 2025.