There are a lot of artists taking classic sounds and putting fresh spins on them right now. The Womack Sisters and Leon Bridges are obvious examples, and a little more under the radar, you’ll hear Devon Gilfillian and Sharp Pins. And now, we can add the sibling duo Sam and Louise Sullivan to the list.
Over the summer, Paste Magazine declared Sam and Louise to be “the next great family band,” and they just might be on to something. As children in Portland, Oregon, their father introduced them to Irish folk music, and there were apparently many family vacations planned around music festivals. Their story gets even better: Now living in Philadelphia, both Sam and Louise work as schoolteachers while writing and producing music.
The duo's third album, Love & Devotion, is out now, and it finds the siblings expanding their sound from the folk they grew up with to be more poppy. One of the album's singles, “Down On Love,” is both familiar-sounding and unlike anything we’ve heard in a while.
It’s very hard to describe the vibe of this song without getting a little cinematic. It’s a great groove that makes me want to walk down the street in slow motion, like I'm in the opening credits of Reservoir Dogs. It even made me imagine a modern reboot of the movie, with Aubrey Plaza as the DJ instead of Steven Wright.
And now that you have that insight into how my brain works, please check out the song, along with the rest of Sam and Louise Sullivan’s music. It’s available on Bandcamp and streaming services.
