Review: Samantha Fish 'Paper Doll'

Review: Samantha Fish ‘Paper Doll’

By Nick Cristiano

“You pin me up just to tear me down/ I’m not your paper doll,” Samantha Fish spits out on the title track of her new album, ‘Paper Doll.’

To be sure, such bad-ass bravado is no surprise to anyone familiar with the blues-rocker’s steadily rising career. It’s practically her calling card, along with her torrid guitar playing. Rarely, however, has it been delivered with the kind of sonic assault unleashed here. As electrifying as Fish has proven to be as a singer and player, ‘Paper Doll’ takes her to another level.

The album, which follows 2023’s ‘Death Wish Blues’, a Grammy-nominated collaboration with country-rocker Jesse Dayton, was produced by Bobby Harlow, a Detroit garage-rock veteran who also produced Fish’s 2017 set, ‘Chills and Fever.’ Rock and blues are fond of automotive metaphors (“Me and My Chauffeur,” “Drive My Car,” Pink Cadillac” ), so to put in sharp relief her progression from then to now, let’s use one: If ‘Chills and Fever’ is a vintage Corvette, ‘Paper Doll’ is a hulking, state-of-the-art SUV with a commanding presence that can’t be denied.

That thundering power is evident from the first of the nine tracks, “I’m Done Runnin’.” “I like where I’m going,” she declares unapologetically over a musical attack that, like much here, has plenty of polish but still retains an exhilarating garage-rock rawness. “Can Ya Handle the Heat” is as defiant and daring as the title implies, with buzzsaw guitar and pounding drums. “Lose You” and “Rusty Razor” shift up into another gear tempo-wise; they’re hard-charging rockers with chunky riffs and bludgeoning beats. (The former also features one of Fish’s most impassioned vocals, while on the latter she gets help from Detroit rocker Mick Collins.)

“Fortune Teller” (not the old Allen Toussaint-penned New Orleans classic but an original, like everything else on the album) starts out slow and ponderous, and just when it threatens to drag, it abruptly stops and then goes from zero to 60 in a flash. Quite the wild ride.

(It should be noted that ‘Paper Doll’ marks the first time Fish has recorded with her road band – bassist Ron Johnson, drummer Jamie Douglass, and keyboardist Mickey Finn — which may be why she sounds even more unfettered.)

As galvanic as all this is, it would make the record one-dimensional if Fish didn’t blend in some other emotional colors with the toughness. “Sweet Southern Sounds” begins with soothing organ but builds inexorably into a searing expression of need, highlighted by a wailing, Southern rock-flavored solo to finish. “Off in the Blue” has an atmospheric vibe that suits its reflective, open-hearted nature: “It’s just too much/ I’ve had enough of missing you,” she confesses. The last number, “Don’t Say It,” has the album’s most measured guitar solo, which reflects the steely resolve Fish expresses while defending her dignity as a relationship ends. “But all I ever wanted is only to be heard,” she sings. You could say that’s a theme that runs throughout the album.

In the press notes for ‘Paper Doll,’ Fish says, “I wanted to make a big guitar album with some epic performances and really sing my ass off.”

Consider that box checked.

Watch “Can Ya Handle The Heat?”