Samantha Fish - Belle of the West (2017) [Hi-Res]

"You should always get outside of the box," Samantha Fish says while discussing her boundary-breaking new album Belle of the West. "Challenging yourself is how you grow." Having already made it clear that she's more interested in following her heart than she is in repeating past triumphs, Samantha Fish delivers some of her most compelling music to date with Belle of the West, her fifth studio album. The deeply soulful, personally charged 11-song set showcases Fish's sublime acoustic guitar skills as well as her rootsy, emotionally resonant songwriting. "To me, this is a natural progression," Fish notes. "It's a storytelling record by a girl who grew up in the Midwest. It's very personal. I really focused on the songwriting and vocals, the melodies and emotion, and on bringing another dimension to what I do. I wasn't interested in shredding on guitar, although we ended up with a few heavier tracks. I love Mississippi blues; there's something very soulful and very real about that style of music, so this was a chance to immerse myself in that."