- Welcome to Daytrotter
- Metal Strings
- The Shape of Space
- Forest Light
- Redwoods
- The Leveling Storm
The Michigan-born songwriter Sam Watts brings into his writing the strongest of sentiments of labored emotion. Damn it if the aftermaths of his failed or failing relationships don’t feel like they hurt a bit more than those of most others. They burn us because they’ve burned him. They are covered not with easy sadness, but that which has been earned, that which is absolutely formidable and earnest. He requests forgiveness from someone after saying the wrong thing when asked if he was happy. He tells that person, “I meant nothing by, ‘I’ve been happier.'” It’s a little line, but it hangs up in the air there for quite some time, as the song goes on. It’s a powerful anecdote that seems to fit his general operations. Things have fallen apart on him a lot. Things have been difficult – more so then they are currently, as well as less so than they are currently. The shadows have got him covered and he finds that the shade that they cast is agreeable. Watts sings, “It’s the same damned wind, it’s just not at your back,” almost as a reminder to himself to spare the pity and to just live through the gusts by lowering the head and shoulders some and trudging on.