2025 Journal
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01/01/25 - Now entering our 26th year of operation.
01/02/25 - Patrick gave us mastered CDs to listen to before we distribute digitally. Set up to play music again and jammed for about 40 minutes.
01/03/25 - Blend all the Seasons is done and available on our Bandcamp page. Digital distribution should be complete in a week or two.
Thank you to the Black On Track - Radio Show for playing You Better Run.
01/07/25 - Marvelous review of Cigarette and You Better Run by WAX Vinyl Records.
01/08/25 - Girl for Samson soon to be showing up on the Global Indies With Marky radio show.
01/10/25 - Girl for Samson on the Indies With Marky PRMP Show radio show the week of January 13th.
Girl for Samson & The Real Flower Pots on the Tony Ross Radio Show today at 1 PM CST.
01/11/25 - GFS on KCAA: Petra's Worldwide Radio with Eddie and Petra.
01/13/25 - First time on Itisnow Radio Station and My Indie Radio this week.
01/16/25 - Girl for Samson on Radio Jack, Oak Grove Radio, HSpark Radio, Vibe Tunes Radio, Scotland Rocks Radio, Warrior Radio, Amazing Radio, The Plowzone Radio Show, WJRE-LP 96.1 FM, Itisnow Radio Station, Wicked Rock Radio, My Indie Radio, Middtown Music Radio, Hypernova Radio, Howling Rock Radio, Daz in the Hat Radio, Way Out Radio, Future Hits and Wolf Rock Radio this week.
01/17/25 - Blend All the Seasons now available on Spotify.
01/18/25 - Review of Blend All the Seasons by UNXINGED.
01/19/25 - Another thoughtfully written review of Blend All the Seasons:
David Womack
Masterpieces from the Indie Void
"Girl for Samson's new album Blend all the Seasons is alive with dreamy landscapes. Questions are asked and casual suggestions are made that are pregnant with meaning. Commiseration with the human condition blends with the seasons, rolls through the universe churning along in a sad, unrelenting fashion. On "You Better Run," warnings are given with allusions to a "pussycat" keeping on its toes as it eludes hazards from several directions. Religion and war factor in and there's a great line that could be about the silence of God: "You call that a come back? / You never really came back at all." Elsewhere, somebody is crawling from the wreckage of combat. The meanings fade away into Girl for Samson's never-ending push forward through a revolving sound of music in slow rotation - rising and falling, ebbing and flowing.
Johnny Marie's gift as a lyricist is alluding to more than is written down. For instance, what is being suggested for "cutting out" on "Cut it Out?" The first lines might reference an unwanted pregnancy: "The one that's left inside you / Is probably a lie / Not holding that against you." Maybe the narrator is referring to psychic wounds when he suggests "all we want to do / is sew you up." Further along, the refrain may be about stopping a fight, as in - 'Hey, guys, cut it out.' It's to Johnny Marie's credit that as roundabout as the lyrics get, they always point in directions you can feel. On "Bring Me My Medicine" somebody needs help getting home, somebody might be leaving, and somebody is going to need their medicine if things don't get sorted out. Even clearer is "Faking Your Beauty," a song warning you of the people who will call you out if you try to look too pretty: "Bangs like a valance are / Framing those candy store eyes / Movie star's palette that's / Coarsely, but bravely applied." On "One Pass," somebody gets lucky. "Mack the Knife" is mentioned, and for some reason "Large eyes in poor light" made me think of Peter Lorre in Fritz Lang's move M. This track is the last song on the album and ends with a couple of lines that do a good job of patching together the various themes on Blend all the Seasons: "A hard laugh at the whole mess and I'm moving on."
Johnny Marie and Patrick Meagher share various vocals, guitars, keyboards and drums; Steve Brown's on bass; with occasional assistance on drums from Jerry Riccardi. There are catchy pop hooks from the guitars and a punchy forward thrust from the rhythm section. You get Hawaiian melody, jagged guitar riffs, drifting synthesizer all in service of a pastoral/cosmic texture. I pick up slight reminders of Apples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control and even Brian Wilson given that falsetto on "Cut it Out." Blend of the Seasons is Girl for Samson's fifth album. The band's steadfast rapport has resulted in an inspiring accumulation of very interesting songs."
01/20/25 - This week we're on KKFI, Zenerulett Radio, Ayn Radio, XRP Radio, SSCR Tampa, Wolfman Radio, Black on Track (Hangover Hill), Radio Wigwam, WDNF Philly, Good N Plenty Radio, Radio Candy, Sweet Sunday Sounds with Isaac Banks, Lava Lounge Radio, The Scene, The Midwest Connection, Middtown Music Radio, "Live from the Bog" on XRP Radio, "The Mourning Coffee Show" on Dark Star Radio and Music Mafia Radio. Check our Facebook page for dates and times.
01/21/25 - Girl for Samson are on the "AID FOR LA" Compilation Digital Album (LONESTARZ RECORDZ) which can be purchased with 100% of the proceeds going to the California Fire Foundation. You can stream and download it here.
01/23/25 - Talked about football, microphones, the origin of man and releasing Blend All the Seasons on CD.
01/24/25 - Cigarette on WDNF-Philly's Hot 50
01/26/25 - One Pass is on this great Dreamy Indie playlist.
You can hear Girl for Samson this week on WCZR Code Zero Radio, Radio Sylvia, West Norfolk Radio, SSCR Tampa, Radio Free Otaku, Zenerulett Radio, Music Mafia Radio, IGRMiami, Discover You Radio, Dark Star Radio, Howling Rock Radio, Live from the Bog on XRP Radio, Ozcat Radio, Daz In The Hat Radio, On The Air Tonight, My Indie Radio, Scotland Rocks Radio, Radio Jack, HSpark Radio, Ride Time Radio, Indie Rock Radio, MiddTown Music Radio, Hypernova Radio, The Plowzone Radio Show, Eternal Webradio, Wicked Rock Radio, Future Hits Radio, KKFI, WOLF ROCK RADIO, Wolfman Radio's "The Untapped Project" & Big Indie Giant.
01/30/25 - Cigarette is Wolfman Radio's Song of the Week. Neat!
02/03/25 - The Girls are happily appearing on the "On The Horizon Radio Show" on the 8th.
Aspen Waiter Radio
9-11 am GMT (UK Time)
https://www.aspenwaiteradio.com/our-shows/on-the-horizon
KDUB Radio
3-5 pm E.T. (USA Ohio time)
https://www.kdubradio.com/on-the-horizon.html
02/05/25 - A coverted review of Blend All the Seasons by I Don't Hear A Single
I Don't Hear A Single
"I rarely get to converse with anyone these days. Here seems to be all consuming and there seems little time for the activity I used to have with all the listening, writing and selecting. So it has been nice exchanging emails with Johnny Marie.
One of the topics that came up was getting coverage and it wasn't the usual moans about not appreciated, music dying or Spotify taking all the air. It was about genres and how hard it is for a band who offer variety to get around the labels and you know how I adore variety
This is Johnny Marie and Patrick Meagher's fifth album as Girl For Samson and lest we forget they are also active as The Real Flower Pots and then there is Marie's solo career. But we concentrate here on Girl For Samson and Blend For All Seasons is a superb album.
It will suit both followers and the Like Minded Reviewers on the Right Hand Side of IDHAS. The variety is commendable and attempting to label it seems pointless and unnecessary, so how does it get listened to? Maybe we should all help with the word of mouth,
Girl For Samson are a Kansas City quartet who offer up a heady melodic mix of what might be sketchily called Pop Rock, but remember we are not labelling. The shared vocals of Marie and Meagher adds even great variation.
The former has a vocal suited to the likes of Brit Pop, Pop Rock or Indie Rock. Meagher's voice suits itself more to Modern Prog, Classic Rock as well as Shoegaze. All of these areas and more filter into the results here.
Faking Your Beauty for instance as a blend of harmonies that would fit easily amongst the West Coast brigade, yet (You Took) One Of Everything is a mixture of 70s Easy Listening and Prog. Yet the killer single, Cigarette, is pure Brit Pop and edges into Psych Pop.
The title track hints at Shoegaze and adds a mesmerising Guitar solo, but You Better Run is vocal harmony led gentle Prog. Soon just washes over you, feeling slightly 80s, yet Get Off That Stake is simply a cimematic soundscape.
You can probably sense from these words that this is a wonderful album to listen to. Beautifully arranged and produced, it is an enthralling listen that deserves a much wider audience. Blend For All Seasons is an album that you just don't want to end."
Our first session overdubbing parts on previously recorded jams.
02/06/25 - Cigarette reviewed by the French webzine SoundsGoodWebZine
02/08/25 - Girl for Samson songs on Prospect Radio, Radio Free Otaku, "On The Horizon Radio Show", Lava Lounge Radio, SSCR Tampa and Zenerulett Radio.
02/10/25 - A Ding! Ding! Ding! review of Soon by the B-Side Guys:
Girl For Samson's "Soon" Unspools Time's Tender Thread
Girl for Samson's latest track "Soon" marks a shift to collaborative improvisation, blending shoegaze and indie rock, while exploring themes of change and economic anxiety through evocative lyrics.
After twenty-five years of crafting meticulously spaced albums, Girl For Samson has reimagined their creative process on their latest release, "Soon." The track emerges from their fifth full-length "Blend all the Seasons," marking a decisive shift from their traditional songwriting approach to one built on collaborative improvisation.
Where previous albums saw Patrick Meagher, Johnny Marie, and Steven Brown bringing near-complete compositions to the table, "Soon" springs from the fertile ground of their collective unconscious. The result is a hypnotic piece that weaves shoegaze textures with indie rock's raw emotionality, creating a tapestry of anticipation and uncertainty.
The production maintains a delicate balance between clarity and chaos. Layers of instrumentation build and recede like tides, while the vocals float above the mix with an ethereal presence. The recurring phrase "They come/And they're always on time" serves as both hook and haunting reminder, punctuated by waves of distortion that mirror the song's themes of inevitability.
Lyrically, "Soon" grapples with the weight of impending change. Lines like "Soon, we all will come unspun/No money left to spend" hint at economic anxiety, while the repeated imagery of being "all the way up here" suggests a precarious elevation - perhaps success, perhaps isolation. The gradual transformation of "come undone" to "come unspun" in the final verse cleverly echoes the band's own evolution from structured composition to looser, more experimental territory.
This new direction feels particularly poignant coming from a group known for their methodical five-year album cycles. "Soon" captures both the anticipation and anxiety of transformation, delivered with the "sass" they promised while maintaining the thoughtful unpredictability that has defined their career. It's a testament to how bands can find fresh creative ground even after decades together, proving that sometimes the best way forward is to let go of old patterns and trust in collective instinct.
02/21/25 - Winter Mourning on the New Music Friday Playlist at Oak Grove Radio 98.5 FM
02/23/25 - Cigarette on the Homa Made podcast.
03/01/25 - Thank you Warrior Radio, Oak Grove Radio, The Scene, Radio Free Otaku, Not the Girl Next Door Radio Show, Prospect Radio, SSCR Tampa, Dark Star Radio, Big Indie Giant, My Indie Radio, itisnow Radio, Rock Connection 77, Zenerulett Radio and Radio Sylvia for the plays from Blend All the Seasons.
03/02/25 - Cigarette getting played on the following stations this week courtesy of Indies With Marky PRMP Show :
MONDAY
IGRMiami at 1PM EST 12PM CST 6PM GMT
Howling Rock Radio at 5PM EST 4PM CST 10PM GMT
TUESDAY
Ozcat Radio at 12AM PST 3AM EST 8AM GMT
Daz In The Hat Radio at 9AM EST 8AM CST 2PM GMT With a repeat at 9PM EST 2AM GMT
Insanely Gifted RADIO at 2PM EST 1PM CST 7PM GMT
On The Air Tonight/OTAT247 at 5PM EST 4PM CST 10PM GMT
WEDNESDAY
My Indie Radio at 7AM EST 6AM CST 12PM GMT 1PM CET
Scotland Rocks Radio at 8AM EST 7AM CST 1PM GMT
Radio Jack at 12PM EST 11AM CST 5PM GMT 6PM CET
HSpark Radio at 5PM EST 4PM CST 10PM GMT
KDUB Radio at 9PM EST
THURSDAY
Ride Time Radio at 3PM EST 2PM CST 8PM GMT 90.4 FM The Canary Islands
Discover You RADIO LLC at 7PM EST 6PM CST 4PM PST
RadioMaxMusic Internet Radio at 8PM EST 7PM CST
Indie Rock Radio at 9PM EST
FRIDAY
HSPARK RADIO 8AM GMT
SCOTLAND ROCKS RADIO at 10AM EST 9AM CST 3PM GMT
MiddTown Music Radio at 12PM EST 11AM CST 5PM GMT
Hypernova Radio at 5PM EST 4PM CST 10PM GMT
SATURDAY
Hypernova Radio at 10AM EST 9AM CST 3PM GMT
The Plowzone Radio Show at 4PM EST 3PM CST 9PM GMT
Eternal Webradio at 6PM EST 5PM CST
SUNDAY
DAZ IN THE HAT RADIO at 12PM EST 11AM CST 5PM GMT With a repeat at 12AM EST 5AM GMT
Wicked Rock Radio at 11AM EST 10AM CST 4PM GMT
Future Hits Radio at 4PM EST 3PM CST 9PM GMT
WOLF ROCK RADIO at 7PM EST
03/05/25 - Cigarette is Keep Walking Music's Fresh Pick of the Week.
03/09/25
Reviews for "Girl For Samson" generally praise their unique blend of shoegaze, indie rock, and dream pop, highlighting their atmospheric soundscapes, ethereal vocals, and ability to create a sense of emotional depth through their music, often with themes of longing, uncertainty, and the passage of time; critics often cite their albums "Blend All The Seasons" and "Soon" as stand-out releases with a particularly captivating sound.
Key points from reviews:
Ethereal vocals:
Many reviewers comment on the delicate and floating quality of the lead vocalist's delivery, adding to the dreamlike quality of their music.
Textural soundscapes:
"Girl For Samson" is known for their layered instrumentation, creating a rich and immersive soundscape that can be both calming and evocative.
Melancholic themes:
Lyrics often explore themes of longing, loss, and the passage of time, contributing to the introspective and emotional nature of their music.
Unique sound within the indie scene:
While drawing from shoegaze and indie rock influences, "Girl For Samson" is recognized for their distinct style and ability to craft atmospheric tracks that stand out.
Some specific review highlights:
"Their music is like a hazy dream, with delicate vocals floating over a bed of lush, textured sounds."
" 'Blend All The Seasons' is a masterclass in creating immersive and emotionally resonant soundscapes."
"The song 'Soon' captures a sense of anticipation and uncertainty with its hypnotic melodies and layered instrumentation."
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