Review: Sam Millar – More Cheese Please

Independent ( September 1st, 2023)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Sam Millar, the former guitarist of the now defunct heavy blues band Bigfoot, has returned to the scene with his first solo album after having released two EPs in 2019 and 2020. If you’re familiar with both of those releases, he seems to have taken the best parts of those and combined them to create this album. If you are only familiar with his work in Bigfoot, then this album will come as a bit of a surprise. This is a power pop record that at times reminded me of several different artists from the 80s. You can hear the influences on various tracks as it sounds like he is covering material that they never released. The best part is he is really good at doing just that.

Opening track ‘The Killing Floor’ sets the stage for what is to come. An opening guitar echo effect leads to a big band eruption and we’re off to the races! The song has some nice touches that enhance its power pop finesse. The synching of the synths and the guitar in the verses makes for a full, robust sound. The sporadic synth saxophone is also a nice addition.  With this being the first solo song I ever heard from Sam, it instantly grabbed me with its straightforward choppy guitar groove.

As good as that was, the opening minutes of the next track were even better. I’m a big Rick Springfield fan and I instantly thought of him as Sam channelled everything I love about his style with ‘Fooling Yourself’. Power chords, an underlayer of synth keyboards, and an ultra-catchy chorus all utilized to perfection. What I didn’t expect was the change-up to a half-time structure over the second half. Admittedly, I would have preferred Sam stayed with the drum beat of the first half, but I can appreciate how the change-up enhances the vocal harmonies that he layered over the chorus.

Sam tries out Richard Marx’s old school style with the opening blast of Track 3’s ‘Something I’ll Regret’. What I love about this song is the tried-and-true formula of a big sounding opening, followed by a quieter verse, then an explosive sing-along chorus, with striking keys to accentuate its power. The most commercial sounding song on the album and something I could hear being played to the mainstream of today.

I found the first half of the album to be stronger than the second half. The acoustic-based ballad ‘When The Summer Ends’ is as light are airy as you would imagine it to be. I also enjoyed the light-hearted takedown lyrics of ‘Showbiz’, a mid-tempo pop-infused track about putting a drama queen in her place. The latter half loses some of its rock edge in favor of change ups like the synthwave ‘Déjà Vu’ or early 80s new wave vibe of ‘Dancing On My Own’. With that said, I do appreciate his willingness to branch out and experiment with his sound. Your enjoyment of those tracks will depend on how much you like those respective genres.

It’s all in the title of the album. While I am hesitant to call anything sounding this good “cheesy”, I get what Sam was going for when he named the album. What surprised me most about this album is the way Sam effortlessly flows between the subtle differences between artists he was inspired by to create his own music using what came before as template inspiration. A truly remarkable album covering various commercial genres that will appeal to most pop rock fans.

Tracklist:

1. The Killing Floor
2. Fooling Yourself
3. Something I’ll Regret
4. When The Summer Ends
5. Chardonnay
6. Showbiz
7. Forget You
8. Dancing On My Own
9. Déjà vu
10. Neanderthal Man
11. Meet Me Halfway