Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
We have all met the person to whom the word heedless, even rash and hasty, can be applied, not out of anger or a sense of antagonism, but out of calm composure, because we know deep down that what they have said, what they might have done in the heart of the moment, was just them being human, thoughtless not evil, foolish not foul.
There is of course a difference between heedless and reckless, for in the life of the reckless one, the observer can feel the presence of self the person is offering, to fall hopelessly and positively in love with The Reckless One is not a state of mind, it is a duty to which we all have proudly worn on our sleeves at one time or another, and maybe a feeling to which we adore completely having in our soul.
Love is delicate, and yet, as Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar profoundly bear witness to in their brand new album, The Reckless One, that love is larger than life, it demonstrates versatility, volatility, vivaciousness, the passion of the what could be called the va-va-voom, and because it strides confidently through more than one genre, it is a hurricane of emotional stability that the listener cannot betray or wait to immerse themselves in, to sample every emotion decreed as exhilarating by the band.
The gospel truth of the matter is that through pulsating songs such as the excellent cover of Bob Dylan’s Meet Me In The Morning, One Heartbreak, Sacrifice, Better To Have Never, So I Always Know and the opening track of the album Love Is All Around, what the listener is hearing, feeling, is not just appreciation, but their heart understanding the resonance of imploring beauty, of the funk, gospel beat pulling out all the stops to achieve that rarest of considerations, mutual satisfaction.
Influence may be the strong hold of any artistic pursuit, but it takes original thought to make it stand out, never heedless, never foolish, but welcomingly, serenely, reckless to the point of intoxicating elation… a summit to which Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar have reached with passionate belief throughout The Reckless One.
Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar release The Reckless One on Friday 20th November.
Ian D. Hall