Talented local singer-songwriter Sam Thacker, has been performing in and around Atlanta since 2001 and is on the verge of releasing his second full-length album, “Lines.”
Sam Thacker started out as that guy in your freshman dorm with an acoustic guitar- playing cover songs with his buddy in a common room. Thacker quickly moved the show to local gigs, and began working original material into his act. The singer’s charismatic shows are well known around Georgia, and thanks to tireless touring across the country, he’s now known in many other regions as well. He performed in 2007 aboard The Rock Boat along with acts Better Than Ezra, Sister Hazel, and Gavin DeGraw and has been asked to join The Rock Boat again in 2009. The Rock Boat is an annual cruise for music lovers, billed as “The World's Largest Floating Music Festival."
In 2005, Sam Thacker self-released his debut album, “Above The Underneath." The album garnished him attention from Atlanta and Florida radio stations and got airplay nationwide on XM satellite radio. This summer marks the release of his sophomore effort “Lines." The album is being released first in a special limited edition (less than 100 copies of the original pressing of 500 remain) available on tour stops and in stores in September.
"Lines" starts out a bit wobbly: Thacker’s vocals are drenched in agony, crying over a plucked guitar. Just when you think you know what the song is about, it changes gears. It’s an awkward transition so early in the tracklist, but it works out. The new gear is a driving rock song about a jilted lover that Thacker really throws his voice behind. You can almost see him sneering as he sings “Yes, you had me / Yes, I was yours / Yes, you left me right when I needed you."
“Lines” is a collection of styles in both songwriting and production. It wins with big power-pop anthems like “No One Needs To Know” and “Ashes” and sensitive ballads like “North." The made-for-top 40 “Right Where We Want To Be” is a radio single waiting to be discovered. But in all these different styles, what’s not present is a distinct sound that is all Sam Thacker. Seemingly culled from influences of AAA radio like The Calling, Switchfoot, Jimmy Eat World, and even Coldplay, it fails to present itself as something you haven’t heard before. Too often, I find myself thinking about another artist’s song while listening to this album.
Thacker’s talent for putting real emotions into his songs carries the album. Like an actor stepping into a role, he has a keen skill for matching the mood and feel of a song to the lyrics. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the easy melody that anchors the album. Appropriately named “The Last," it’s an acoustic love song pairing Thacker’s emotive vocals with a sliding guitar part that is beautiful in its simplicity.
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