Time to Melt

While to this point songwriter/engineer Sam Owens releases under the Sam Evian moniker have all had a drowsy, nostalgic quality to them emphasized by vintage instruments and recording techniques, he dials up the wooziness a couple notches on his third album, the aptly titled Time to Melt. Working with some of his regular stable of musicians -- among them partner Hannah Cohen -- he also expands arrangements here, adding a horn section and contributions by the likes of Grizzly Bears Chris Bear, the War on Drugs Jon Natchez, and Spencer Tweedy, to name a few. Funky bass and Fender Rhodes are among the featured instruments on songs that feel jammier than his first two albums, though the mood remains mellow and languid, at least for the most part. It begins with the warped, vibraphone-cushioned soft rock of Freezee Pops, which eventually introduces Owens gentle, meditative vocals around the 45-second mark. Inspired by the works of masters like Marvin Gaye and John Coltrane, he brings sociopolitical issues to the fore from the start, with the opening lines Taking a ride downtown/You know what youre in for leading a poetic reflection on injustice and police brutality thats at odds with the songs breezy musicality. Similarly textured later track Knock Knock offers the line Living in America, we tell ourselves almost anything but truth. That songs abundant pitch bends and glissandos are a trait of a whole album lost in a combination of meandering thoughts and grooves. Nine tracks in, the affectionate Easy to Love splashes cold water on the face of the proceedings with its brisk tempo, syncopated horns, and festival-like full-stage instrumentation. The record then slips back into a beanbag chair for the quieter, trippier 999 Free and somnambulant closer Around It Goes, whose aqueous guitar, saxophone, and funk groove score audio clips sent in by fans at Evians request during pandemic lockdown. ~ Marcy Donelson