Sam Williams -- Act II: COUNTRYSTAR

Sam Williams continues his dazzling dance with pop delight. With the second half of his collection, Act II: COUNTRYSTAR, the Hank Williams descendant is far removed from the country & western of yesteryear. You might find traces of his grandfather on his first set, Act I: Scarlet Lonesome, but the latest pushes the envelope into the future. He certainly takes cues from another genre-shaker, Sam Hunt, but his voice rings clearer and more evocative. While he fully embraces the mainstream, even his voice picks up a slick swagger, there are country strings that keep the project intact. 

The genre melding is best on display with “HONKYTONKIN,” in which Williams two-steps from a traditional callback to a forward-pushing, Matthew McConaughey-shouting setpiece. The bold bookender appropriately sums up the musical scope and breadth with which Williams paints. Out of the gate, the title track stages the melodic epoch that sees the singer-songwriter side-winding under the silver glow of a genreless moon. His voice trembles, often sitting at a crossroads of his signature scruff and a shinier, silkier tone. 

Then, there are such moments as “No Problem” that operate with an organic/full-produced fusion. “I Killed a Man in Tennessee,” perhaps Williams’ crown jewel, fits snugly inside the same sandbox, with its gunshot sound effects and polished R&B strut. His genre-bending, like fractured rays of light (“Fugitive” smashes the pyramid), remains enticingly addictive as it thrusts its way through the mainstream to alight upon a futuristic something. Amidst the racket, there’s “Daydream” that feels less reliant on pop music than it does on classically contemporary (circa 2010s) signifiers – the guitar static feels ripped from a Keith Urban b-side but with a stronger, more self-assured lead vocal.

Together, Act I: Scarlet Lonesome and Act II: COUNTRYSTAR fit into a cohesive puzzle, showing the full range of his artistry at this point in time. It’s both indebted to the past and free-flying into the future. His work is very now, with its bouncy pop notion and sticky mainstream R&B, but it offers up something with a foot always in the future.

Sam Williams – Official | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok