‘Isabelle’ by Sam Johnston

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Oh Isabelle… We’ve been giving you Sam Johnston all week long. You watched his interview. You heard him sing from the rooftops. Now you get his latest single Isabelle that he graced us with back in April. As we’ve touched on this week Sam hit us with his EP Longing back in the fall of 2018. ...

Oh Isabelle…

Sam Johnston Isabelle Artwork We’ve been giving you Sam Johnston all week long. You watched his interview. You heard him sing from the rooftops. Now you get his latest single Isabelle that he graced us with back in April. As we’ve touched on this week Sam hit us with his EP Longing back in the fall of 2018. The EP with the hit single The River he got a lot of the Nashville music scene talking. So when Isabelle dropped we at NU weren’t surprised when we found ourselves listening to this one on repeat.

Sam may not have the range that defines reason, but he has a sort of John Mayer pocket. He knows where he thrives and he fully and in all honesty kills it there. He lives and breathes in his pocket and utilizes his emotions, cadence, and mic technique in the studio to give you all the vocal dynamics you’ll need while staying in his pocket.

Straight To The Soul

In this single Sam gets into his storytelling bag with a Blues and Soul production that perfectly highlights his vocals. He starts us with a soft, gritty guitar riff that leads us to some background soulful “Ooooos” and some organ as the song picks up before the first verse. Sam drops in right away with stop and go production where the music hits the listener then dissipates as he says “Man, I wish I was an Author/Feel I got a lot to say”. He continues throughout the first verse utilizing the metaphor of being an author to describe in how much detail he could go into to describe his emotions towards the woman, in this song, named Isabelle.

A Hollow Love

Throughout the rest of the song, he walks us through what it was that left him in this state. After the first verse we get a musical breakdown before the 2nd verse kicks in. This is where we get to the details. In todays world we’d now call it “Spilling the tea“. For those who don’t know that term, this is where it gets juicy. He get’s straight to it opening up with “Oh, you took all of my money”. Ouch.

We don’t count out wallets when we’re happy, but when our heart gets broken we start reflecting on how light it was feeling. Plus we start realizing how much extra cash is available. I love the parallel execution in the verses too. How he had the stop and go production in the first verse, in this one he follows this same lyrical pattern, but with the call/repeat with the background vocalists coming in between his lines.

A Black & Blue Blessing

Throughout the song we’re following the story telling of a man hurt by a woman but still finding it hard to move on “A tough act to follow”. Throughout the 1st verse we’re given the perspective of ways to describe his emotions, with the 2nd verse being where we learn how Isabelle hurt him. The Third verse/bridge (depends on how you break the song down), gives us his revelation to the relationship. He gives the listener lines such as “Then again it was a blessing you left me black and blue // Cause all this love I feel can go to some good use”. Otherwise saying he can give his love to someone who deserves it.

As he leads us to the conclusion to the song he raises his emotions even more, giving us a more hard, gritty version of the hook through his vocal execution, letting us know the true feelings he’s built up through telling us this story of heartbreak. In conclusion, we’re given the soulful Isabelle on repeat to fade us out and leave us with a Southern soulful aftertaste when the song concludes.

Rice’s Reaction

I’m a fan of music in general. Just like anyone I have my favorite styles, but I know good music made by good musicians when I hear it. One thing I’ve always been big on is painting a picture. Throughout listening to Sam’s music I can tell this is big on him too. It’s easy enough to just write a song with catchy melodies and some semblance of staying on topic. Sam approaches songwriting the same way I used to, and my favorite artists do. He creates cohesion. A beginning, middle, climax, and ending to each of his songs.

Isabelle is such a good storytelling song I was able to have a visual representation in my head for every line. Nothing he said wen’t without visualizing him trying to write as an author at a desk with a lamp on. About how this woman took his love for granted. How he moved on. I was able to paint a clear picture in my head because of how he wrote. Furthermore, I love the subtle progression of his emotions. If you listen from front to back, it grows as he talks about it. Just like anyone would do when talking about something painful or passionate to them. Their emotions will fluctuate as they get deeper into the story. In conclusion, I am very impressed with Sam, his songwriting, and his ability to draw me into a story. Beautiful work my friend.