Sam Phillips – Solid State: Songs From the Long Play (Littlebox)

As one of many artists circumventing the archaic system that is the 20th century music industry, Sam Phillips has been experimenting with distribution, using a subscription-based online art installation called Longplay as the way to release new music. But for those that don’t cotton to such new-fangled ways, Phillips has gathered the best of her Longplay work on a traditional album entitled Solid State. For what’s essentially a compilation, there’s an amazing consistency here, as if all the songs were recorded in one burst of creative urgency. (Maybe they were.) Phillips’ trademark bittersweetness is in full flower, as she quietly but steadfastly explores conflicting emotions with the skill of a poet and the emotional maturity of a veteran of the relationship wars. From the singalong choruses of “Happy Mediums” and “Lying” to the moody melodies of “When I’m a Camera” and “So Glad You’re Here,” Phillips works her mojo with inspiration and assurance. She hits the highest peaks in two places on the record – once in the middle with the 1-2-3 punch of “Throw Yourself Away,” “Tell Her What She Wants to Know” and “Lever Pulled Down,” and again near the end with the ambivalent holiday salute “It Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas.” There may be no thematic driver to these tunes, but that simply allows each track to be taken on its own merit, and the strength of Phillips’ writing and singing means that Solid State moves easily and efficiently from strength to strength.

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