Showing ample Americana heart, Sam Sample channels the shock of a sudden breakup into “XACTO,” a new single released ahead of her sophomore album Look in the Mirror and Beg. Flickering bass and thumping drums open the track with climactic allure. Moody guitars then bolster Sample’s soulful entry, bleak in the “you told me not to call” chilliness and ensuing “you cut me out of your life, with an XACTO knife” biting edge, complemented aptly by snarling distortion. Those crunchy guitar tones swelter in a gorgeous, heightening emotional delivery in the “can’t bear to look at me, and I know why” introspection.
Conveying a sense of catharsis through “I’m sick of your bullshit,” the track recognizes past toxicity and how one is truly better off without a former beloved, despite the initial sting of the relationship ending. An enthralling guitar solo takes hold past the two-minute turn, melding well with the pulsing undercurrent, before driving into a delectable reprisal of the title-touting hook. “XACTO” is a captivating, heartfelt rock success from Sam Sample.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
