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Sam Bartells - Single/Video Review: Extraordinary Girl

06 Dec 2018 // A review by darryl baser

There’s something pretty cool about the whole DIY ethic, from the early Flying Nun years, and now with many artists producing their own material.

Sam Bartells, who creates music under his last name, has just released the single Extraordinary Girl with an accompanying self-filmed video.

Like all good videos it tells a story which is congruent with the song’s lyrics, and it becomes rapidly apparent that the song is a father singing to a daughter.

In a media release he says: “Extraordinary Girl is a song about any special girl in your life that brightens things up. I really wrote it for my girls and my youngest daughter who was a big part of my early sobriety and gave me hope in despairing time. It’s my way of saying thank you to them.”

Throughout the song, and video the love he has for his youngsters is obvious.

Lyrically it is refreshingly obvious, but not in the slightest bit trite, dull, or preachy. It captures a feeling at the time. Kind of a Not Given Lightly (Chris Knox) for a new generation.

Bartells' composition is pop songwriter gold, structured well, and it flows well, weaving its melodic and lyrical journey for a radio compatible three minutes and features a great balance of instruments which are mixed well. This is a potential career-making song.

The video opens up with him holding a selfie stick filming himself while skating, then there’s shots of him through long grass, it’s quite artistic, but without being pretentious in any way.

The video is interspersed with images of his daughter and either other family members or friends. It really is a proud dad moment turned into a song, where the musician is grateful for the positive changes brought about by having children.

Rating: ( 4 / 5 )
 

Releases

Let's Go
Year: 2020
Type: Album

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