Sam Heiliger, a former violinist & one-half of the band Woolfish, released a few solo songs many years ago, but seems to have released nothing on his own for about 10 years.
That’s a real shame, because his new single ‘This Floor’, released under the name songsofsam, is a beautiful slice of indie-folk.
Sam says, “The song…is about a person who falls in love with someone with high highs and low lows. The love interest is also into taxidermy.”
I must admit that last sentence threw me too – but there is (believe it or not) a reference to it in the song:
“You had animals stuffed on the floor of your bed. They would watch as we lost all the things that we had. They would look down if you asked them to, and I’ll never know what I meant to you”
Possibly the first reference ever to taxidermy in any song, but it feels emotional and real because Sam has such a fantastic voice. It’s delicate and warm with a slightly breathy sound and a hint of raspiness.
The melody, too, is so assured it feels like it’s always been – there are soulful low notes and beautiful high notes, which all combine to convey much more than the sum of their parts.
The only other element to the track is a simple acoustic guitar part – a constant, supportive presence.
This is a song that is stripped bare – it feels like we are sitting next to each other as Sam pours his heart out – you can even hear the chair creaking at the end of the song – and at under 2 minutes, it’s over far too soon.
Let’s hope there’s not such a big gap until the next release – because songsofsam could go a very long way – if he wants to.
Written by Grubby
