which are complex and deal in the subtlety of thinking for a long time about a relationship or a conflict. Like Aimee Mann before her, who she channels on the opening title track, she gets beyond the surface to the motivations of herself and her characters, in compelling folk-influenced indie rock.

The album starts strong, with some of the singles that she released prior to the album release, including “Golden Gate,” a gentle but rollicking thinker of a song. “Thought I’d figure it out when I’m older / Now that I’m older I haven’t figured it out.” She is both humorous and insightful in her story telling, and shows the power of songwriting, songs that in the past have resonated with thousands of people.

“That ain’t no way to treat a friend / Now I’m ugly on the inside / I’m spitting ink like venom / And I’ve got to get it out tonight,” she sings on the second song. The craft of writing comes up in the record a number of times, just like her love for her friends, her hatred for things like bystanders and Valentine’s day, and her gentle insistence that we’re all in the same boat. “There is nothing wrong with you / That isn’t wrong with the rest of us, too.”

“Holy Mothers, you be careful / You can love your sons too much / Make them sainted, unacquainted / With the decency of love.” She sings as a young woman who sees the world from both a nurturing and critically wise perspective, and the power of her storytelling is the careful way that she wears her heart on her sleeve, by way of her compelling short story-like narratives. Like her friend, Madison Cunningham, she is putting out one compelling record after another, records that are rich in the sonic and lyrical world of folk-indie rock, as it is making its way into the future.

Order Bystander by Johana Samuels HERE