Sam Doores of New Orleans–based band The Deslondes (and before that, a member of Hurray for the Riff Raff) is releasing his debut solo album on March 13 via New West. The record promises a blend of old school New Orleans R&B, Memphis soul and rock and roll, Detroit Motown and gospel, and early blues and Americana. It also features collaborations with Aynda Lee Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff, Mat Davidson of Twain, and the New Orleans mainstay Tuba Skinny.
Premiering today is Doores’ jaunty duet with Segarra, “Other Side of Town.” “Everybody’s havin’ a party / I’m alone, I ain’t got nobody,” Doores laments of a night spent solo amidst NOLA’s lively culture of parades and street drinking, whilst Segarra commiserates with a call-and-response.
Of the track’s inspiration, Doores shares: “The skeleton for ‘Other Side of Town’ took shape while messing around on a piano one particularly lonesome night during carnival season. I had already written more than enough melancholy tunes and just wanted to write something fun and groovy to cheer my sad, sorry ass up while the rest of the town was partying all around me. It felt cathartic not to take it all too seriously. I remember showing a verse and the chorus to Alynda Mariposa Segarra the next day and she immediately came up with the perfect second verse for it. It became a collaboration…so I figured it’d be nice to record it as a duet with Alynda—alternating verses and coming together with call and response doo-woppy gang vocals for the chorus.”
He continues, “My friend and producer Anders ‘Ormen’ Christophersen was always challenging us to experiment with more cinematic, psychedelic sounds—so I felt inspired to combine these new sonic landscapes with my love for old school New Orleans R&B and folk music. This track became a welcome opportunity to explore the space between those worlds…tipping our caps to Fats Domino and Huey Piano Smith while occasionally running a snare hit through an analogue space echo.”
Sam Doores’ self-titled album is out March 13 via New West Records. Pre-order it here, and check out tour dates and listen to “Other Side of Town” below.
Sam Doores On Tour:
January 25th — New Orleans, LA — Tigermen’s Den
January 26th — New Orleans, LA — Folk Alliance
January 30th — Lafayette, LA — Atmosphere Bistro
February 20th — New Orleans, LA — The Starlight
March 4th — Birmingham, AL — The Nick
March 5th — Athens, GA — Flicker Theatre*
March 6th — Savannah, GA — Savannah Stopover (Service Brewing Co.)*
March 7th — Mobile, AL — Merry Widow
March 13th — New Orleans, LA — Hi Ho Lounge^
March 14th — Baton Rouge, LA — Beauvoir Park*^
March 15th — Lafayette, LA — Whirlybird^
March 16th — Houston, TX — Continental Club*^
March 17th — Ft. Worth, TX — Main at South Side*^
March 19th — Austin, TX — Sam’s Town Point*^
March 22nd — Abita Springs, LA — Abita Buskers Festival
April 10th — Nashville, TN — The Basement
April 15th — Woodstock, NY — The Colony
April 16th — Hudson, NY — Half Moon
April 18th — Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Folk Fest (St. Ann & The Holy Trinity)
April 22nd — Boston, MA — Atwood’s Tavern
* w/ Daniel Romano
^ w/ Esther Rose
