Samantha Marais - Peppermint Conspiracy

by Matt Hell

A truly beautiful album delivered with an innocence of a previous age

"Apparently it’s out on Butterfly Recordings from 12 November, but NN will be buggered if there’s been any attempt to shift any copies. Your best bet is to go on Myspace and have a listen. You won’t be disappointed."

South African born Samantha Marais steps out of the time machine to deliver a wonderful psychedelic-folk-pop album that it is nigh on impossible to find out anything about. Amazon don’t really know who she is and neither does Wiki (although a list of the cast members of US soap Days Of Our Lives is, apparently, 100% relevant). All of which is something of a shame because ‘Peppermint Conspiracy’ is a beautifully touching album that improves with every listen. 

With no sleeve notes and none to be found on the internet, NN is reduced to guessing track names. The first indication that you’re listening to something really special is on track 5, which NN is calling ‘Troubled Times’, it would make sense. Samantha’s voice is familiar and exotic at the same time, pulling insistently upon those melancholy heart strings you know you’ve got. There’s even a bit of an organ blast at the end (which might have been profitably developed further) that calls to mind the yearning nag of Ms John Soda, on the electronic side of the folk river.

Next you’re listening to track 7 (‘Please Don’t Take Everything’?) and you know this is a special album. With a mandolin garnish, this ballad is deliciously laidback, with the easiness in tempo and feel of a Komeit composition. It’s a eulogy for a relationship, with sadness but resignation, honest and reflective – “Please don’t take everything / Please leave something behind / Remember we had something / Something you might say was fine”. And in between these killers there are some great tracks, ranging from trad-folk, whimsical fairy-stories, spoken word poetry-rivers to dark and pulsing Russian sounding polka.

It’s track 11 though, must be called ‘Runaway’, that’s just immense. Sounding like a pop dream of the Velvet Underground, this is an amazing exercise in the beauty of simplicity. Reverb dripping twangy guitars and bass-drums are pretty much all that’s needed. It’s got a feel of an eighties stormer that just pulls you into dreams of being young and vital but with a sixties execution.

All of which makes for truly beautiful album of tragical appeal delivered with an innocence of a previous age. Apparently it’s out on Butterfly Recordings on November 12th, but NN will be buggered if there’s been any attempt to shift any copies. Your best bet is to go on Myspace and have a listen. You won’t be disappointed.

Samantha Marais said on November 9th 2007 [report abuse]

Hi Matt. Thanks for the great review. This my debut album and is being released online on 12 Nov with a full release next year, which is why you can't find anymore info. Come down to the launch party on Monday. It's at It’s at The Paradise, 19 Kilburn Lane, London, London W10 4AE. Show starts at 8pm. £3.

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