Never Let Me Go is the ten-track album that marks the latest collaboration of “Swiss-born, Gotham-bred” SPIN) indie-rocker Sam Koechlin, aka Sam Himself, with his longtime producer “Second Beatle” Daniel Schlett (Iggy Pop; The War on Drugs) and mastering engineer Greg Calbi (David Bowie; Bruce Springsteen), and features Chris Egan (Solange; Blood Orange) on drums and Josh “JD” Werner (Ghostface Killah; CocoRosie) on bass.
The record is a soundtrack for the first day after what looked like the last. Fueled by the bliss of newfound personal connections and the thrill of going back on the road with his band, Never Let Me Go is a stark contrast to Sam Himself’s somber debut album, Power Ballads, which was a largely recorded at home as “well-crafted set of atmospheric post-punk” (KEXP).
Where the artist’s first LP, released in 2021 to broad acclaim, dealt with the bleak solitude of the nightmarish time during which it was written, Never Let Me Go beams with the promise of a reopening world whose studios, stages and dance floors we finally get to share again — and might lose again at any moment, as recent history has shown. The resulting tension between hope and the awareness of its fragility is at the heart of Never Let Me Go, a boldfaced plea in more than name, evidently vulnerable and more powerful for it.
Throughout 2022, Sam Himself released singles ‘Mr. Rocknroll’, ‘Golden Days’ and the album’s title track ‘Never Let Me Go’ in order to offer a taste of what to expect from the “King of Tears’” (Radiotélévision Suisse) upcoming album.
To promote his upcoming second LP, Sam recently announced the first leg of his European Tour in early 2023, confirming stops in Berlin, Vienna, Hamburg and Zurich, with more to follow (incl. a string of US dates this spring and several European festival shows in the summer).
Currently, the two-time Swiss Music Award nominee is closing out 2022. It’s been a busy year marked by several dozen shows, his first German tour. the completion of his new album at producer Schlett’s Strange Weather Studio in Brooklyn, his second collaboration with the Basel Symphony Orchestra, a mini-run with Icelandic songwriter Ásgeir, and a New York showcase in December.