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Sam and Lisa’s combined proficiencies and unique approaches to songwriting merge with the brilliant percussive work of drummer Micah Hummel, creating a matchless sound in live settings as well as in the studio. The band’s sprawling sonic footprint is held together by their dynamic vocal power – an alternate-reality vocal pairing of Kate Bush and Jeff Buckley.

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The Portland Mercury said “‘Say It’ is an endlessly fascinating sonic concoction, and a confident step forward for Sama Dams.” What should be a series of stylistic contradictions results in each song firmly standing its ground as an interwoven compositional masterpiece, bending and twisting with eclectic abandon. Sama Dams’s fourth and most recent full-length album, ‘Say It’, surprises you with its gritty yet precise instrumentation, striking a keen balance between reserve and power, from wiley “Neil-Young-riding-a-rocket-sled” electric guitar riffs and mutant waves of organ to distorted ukulele and cut-up-on-the-spot breakbeats. In that way, the DIY ethos of the Pacific Northwest has shaped much of the band’s path forward since graduating music school in 2008 and relocating to Portland in 2012.

Much like the Dirty Projectors or Thom Yorke, Sama Dams’s high art sensibilities are wrapped around a subversive knotty core of uncompromised radicalism – like if Leonard Bernstein was signed to K Records. Taking cues from jazz, R&B, new wave, indie-rock, and classical art song, the alt-rock trio weaves a sensuous musical fabric that is distinctly theirs. And it’s no wonder: songwriters Sam and Lisa Adams have been playing music together for over a decade – as long as they have been married – developing a creative forthrightness that sometimes feels voyeuristic.

The Portland Mercury called their 2015 album (Lovely Violence) “something of a wonder: an engrossing, fully realized and vitalized record with no easy musical touchstone.” The band went on a few tours following the release of Lovely Violence and landed an opening spot with Band of Horses.įew bands command the unexpectedly fine line that divides tension and release like Sama Dams does. Since their move, they’ve released two highly acclaimed records through Portland label, Bug Hunt. In 2012, The band relocated to Portland, Oregon. After releasing their first record (Motion & Rest), they quickly gained local notoriety, opening for visiting national acts like Andrew Bird, The Shins, and Menomena. The Fourth Wall was formed in 2011 on the island of Oahu. The Fourth Wall: Presented by Sou’wester Arts

His work has been featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered, Spin, and KEXP. He is best known for his work with MAITA (guitar, production), and has toured the US and Europe both as a solo artist and sideman. Matthew Zeltzer is a Portland based songwriter, guitarist and producer. Matthew Zeltzer: Presented by Sou’wester Arts