Nashville’s singer-songwriter Kashena Sampson releases her debut album, Wild Heart, through New Moon Records. A timeless enchantress, Sampson combines a '70s folk-rock aesthetic and sound, which draws on a California country and classic Laurel Canyon, quickly garnered flattering comparisons to giants such as Nicks, Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt as well as cult heroes such as Barbara Keith, Jim Croce and Bobbie Gentry...

Kashena Sampson's debut album, Wild Heart, is pretty much a textbook example of how to hit the ground running. It's an album with some truly impressive songs.

The road is littered with the broken dreams of individuals who hoped of making it big. Some were just deluded; some didn't have the drive; some just never got that break and some let commitments get in the way... but a few make their dream come true and that's very much the case with Sampson.

It's not that long ago that she was engaged in a cruise ship singing career with dreams of becoming a professional singer-songwriter. In 2015, on a whim, she dove to Nashville just because she wanted to make a record there. She ended up working multiple side jobs including a local greasy spoon to make ends meet, all the while saving up the cash to record her debut record ‘Wild Heart’. Self-released, the record gained praise from media including Rolling Stone, which compared her to her hero, Stevie Nicks.

The album contains 10 songs (36 min, 41 sec) and I think one of the key elements here is the diversity - not only in the songs but also in Sampson's vocal talents. She can belt it out when need be (The powerful 'She Shines' is all the proof you need) or deliver a soft, haunting tune ('Wild Heart').

This is an enjoyable Country album that will not only appease fans of the genre but should also suck in those that aren't normally Country fans.

8

Nick Smithson