Sam Coles - Woman of Wyrd (and other tales)

This is the debut album by local female singer/songwriter Sam Coles - possibly one of the best kept secrets in the area at present. Sam has not been playing live for long in fact we only came across her by chance last August at Whitby Pirate Day when she appeared with Stormcrow. Since then she has become a lot more prolific locally and this album has been long anticipted. Consisting of 11 tracks all self-penned by Sam, Woman of Wyrd can only be described as an emotional and spiritual journey. Not only is Sam a very talented song writer with a vocal clarity that gives you chills she also manages to convey a depth of feeling in each track which both moves and inspires the listener.

The songs are well structured and beautifully performed, the lyrics touching and meaningful, Sam has quite clearly put her heart and soul into this piece. Although in my opinion Sam is unique I have to say that the resemblance in sound to the wonderful Beverley Craven is uncanny which is an accolade to this lady's talent.

The title track - Woman of Wyrd - spoke to me from the first time I heard it many months ago, exploring the way people categorise others purely through a lack of understanding, this is a truly outstanding song both lyrically and musically. Its very difficult to pick out specific songs from this piece as on the whole the complete album is superb. For me the second track, Contentment stands out as does Shadow on my Tongue - track 4.

This is not a compilation to be taken lightly, indeed since I acquired it I have been playing it constantly. Pour yourself a glass of whatever you favour, dim the lights and take in this outstanding 45 minutes or so of quality music.

A beautiful collection of songs by an outstanding lady.

More information about Sam Coles can be found on her MySpace. Sam is due to play with Graham Brotton at The Princess Alice, Middlesbrough on 16th April, do try to get along and see her.

Reviewed by Angela Taylor for North East Live   

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