As a onetime wanna be vocalist myself (haha think bargain basement Bowie), it’s most often voice that draws me into a song. A local vocal that I totally admire comes from Leeds based Sam Hutchinson. When the band Sam used to front (Son’s Arcade) released Tell Me About It last autumn, it was one of the best single releases of the year in my view. I felt it was inspired by Arctic Monkeys’ AM era, and featured a flowing top notch vocal which Kelly Jones would be proud of. It just belonged.

Fast forward 12 months and the old band has done that kind of moving on to different interests kind of thing, and Sam has moved on from the ashes to take on the challenge to focus on his solo musical career. To follow on from his early 2021 release Your Soul which was inspired by a fatal car crash Sam had read about, and then bizarrely suffered a serious crash himself, our man is back with new track Falling. This is a track that is truly solo, as Sam also mixed and mastered the track himself. I can only imagine what creating something like this from start to end feels like. Huge, particularly when the end results feels so polished and good.

Falling is a track that plays strong to Sam’s weary worn vocals, but it is not just a low-key rocker, given there’s a bright pacey chorus, and a class guitar solo in there. This track shows off Sam’s rockier side to be sure, and I even get a bit of an updated Guns N Roses feel to the track; it is that massive a sound. I think the world could be ready for the sound that Sam Hutchinson is creating, it’s that bit different to the current, but it bangs.

Falling is a stylish way for Sam to close what has possibly been a hard year with everything that has been going on. What is a cert is that it is certainly worth looking out for Sam Hutchinson in 2022 and where he goes next.

Chris R

* Images have been taken from Sam’s social media pages.