G.E. SMITH’S PORTRAITS: SAMANTHA FISH

One of the most formidable guitarists of her generation, Samantha Fish deals in her own unmatched brand of bravado, bringing both mind-blowing power and extraordinary emotionality to everything she creates. Since first introducing the world to her larger-than-life talent, the multi-award-winning festival headliner has built a triumphant career whose latest milestones include earning a Grammy nomination for Death Wish Blues (her 2023 collaboration with rocker Jesse Dayton) and opening for The Rolling Stones on their final 2024 U.S. tour date. On her new album Paper Doll, Fish offers up nine powerhouse songs that hit with an unstoppable force, each delivered with an exquisite dose of illuminating insight, soul-soothing empathy, and—above all—newly heightened clarity of vision. “It’s taken me years to finally find my voice in a studio setting,” Fish admits. “But with this record I took everything I had, and slammed it right on the table.”

Fish’s first-ever album recorded with her touring band, Paper Doll takes its title from the first song the Kansas City-bred musician penned for the LP: a raw yet reflective battle cry that perfectly encapsulates the album’s spirit of unapologetic defiance. “That song’s a feminist anthem in a way—but then again, every song’s a feminist anthem when you’re a woman writing from your own experience,” says Fish. “It’s about rebelling against other people’s expectations of who you’re supposed to be, which feels pretty relevant for the times we’re living in right now.”

Recorded at The Orb in Austin and Savannah Studios in L.A., Paper Doll marks the latest entry in an uncompromising and endlessly adventurous catalog that’s found her working with luminaries like Jon Spencer of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion as well as Luther Dickinson (co-founder of North Mississippi Allstars and former member of the Black Crowes). This time around, Fish reunited with Detroit garage-rock icon Bobby Harlow, who also produced her 2017 LP Chills & Fever. “When I look back on Chills & Fever I realize that Bobby was pushing me into some cool and dangerous places, but at that phase in my life I was holding back a bit,” she says. “Now I’m at a point where I’m ready to give people something totally unexpected, something that breaks the pop formula and really takes its time to tell a story with the guitar playing.”

For help in shaping Paper Doll’s magnificently rowdy but nuanced sound, Fish joined forces with bandmates Ron Johnson (bass), Jamie Douglass (drums), and Mickey Finn (keys), cutting most of the album in the midst of a grueling touring schedule that included a run of dates with Slash on the legendary guitarist’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. festival in summer 2024. “I’d never made a record on the road like that,” Fish reveals. “Even though it was so intense, it felt good to keep up the momentum from the live show. It helped us make an album that’s got a real living, breathing pulse to it.”

A potent balance of catharsis and introspection, boldness and vulnerability, Paper Doll opens on the sublimely moody riffs of “I’m Done Runnin’”—an exhilarating statement of self-reliance, expressed with unshakable self-possession (from the bridge: “When I look in the mirror, staring at the unknown/The world’s not getting clearer, but I like where I’m goin’”). “It’s about pushing forward even when life knocks you down, because you know what you want,” Fish explains. One of several songs partly composed with her longtime co-writer Jim McCormick (a multi-platinum hitmaker whose credits also include Luke Bryan and Tim McGraw), “I’m Done Runnin’” draws much of its impact from Fish’s deepened confidence in her vocal prowess. “Singing live onstage is one thing, but learning how to bring that energy into the studio is a whole different beast,” she points out.

Another track steeped in fiery attitude and hard-won self-assurance, “Lose You” kicks into a breakneck pace as Fish confronts a noncommittal paramour, adorning her takedown with a blazing guitar solo and the beguiling harmonies of backup singers D. Scaife, Keo, and Gabbi Beauvais. “It’s a song about taking control and calling the shots in a relationship,” says Fish. “It’s my way of saying, ‘I’m on fire and you’re not, so what are you gonna do about it?’” Later, on the wildly fun “Rusty Razor,” Paper Doll goes scorched earth with a brutally catchy tirade against life’s infinite injustices, amping up the track’s pure punk exuberance with the help of guest vocalist Mick Collins (co-founder of seminal Detroit bands The Gories and The Dirtbombs). “The older you get, the more you can become numb to all the bad shit that happens in life—whether it’s friends passing away before their time, or working so hard and never getting to where you want to be,” says Fish. “But the truth is, we should never get used to our hearts being broken like that.”

Although a feverish intensity fuels much of Paper Doll, the album drifts into a dreamlike languor on songs like “Fortune Teller” (a psych-blues slow-burner driven by a particularly spellbinding vocal turn from Fish). Meanwhile, “Sweet Southern Sounds” unfolds in smoldering riffs and lush organ melodies, ultimately taking the form of a soul-searching epic that turns gloriously frenetic in its final moments. Co-written with fellow New Orleans-based singer/songwriter Anders Osborne, the result is a gripping meditation on a tension all too familiar to those fiercely devoted to their passion. “It’s an anthem about being on the road and feeling guilty about not prioritizing the people in your life,” says Fish. “It’s hard to find that balance between taking care of your relationships and dedicating yourself to your music, and there’s definitely a tinge of heartache to that song.”

A consummate music obsessive who lists such eclectic artists as Prince, Leonard Cohen, and Black Sabbath among her influences, Fish found herself especially fascinated with Delta blues heroes like Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside in the writing of Paper Doll. “I love how in a lot of Mississippi Hill Country blues there’s a drone that happens on the low notes and keeps you hypnotized throughout the song,” she says. “A lot of the guitar work on this record is inspired by that style of playing—and then from there it explodes in all different directions, from rock & roll to soul to pop.” In sculpting such an expansive body of work, Fish found an ideal creative partner in Harlow, who also co-wrote a number of songs on Paper Doll. “I can be a perfectionist when it comes to recording, and it was cool to have Bobby around to stop from me trying to robotically hit the exact note over and over,” she says. And as a born performer who got her start by thumbing through the phone book and cold-calling local bars for gigs in her mid-teens, Fish crafted every song on Paper Doll with an eye toward her incendiary live show. “The main goal is to make great songs that tap into whatever I’m feeling at the moment, but at the same time I’m asking, ‘How is this going to feel live?’” she says. “I’m always thinking about how to add to our arsenal of songs and put together an amazing show for when we’re back out on the road.”

Arguably her most accomplished work to date, Paper Doll emerged from Fish’s deliberate embracing of the ineffable musical gifts she’s cultivated almost her entire life. “When we started working on this record I asked myself, ‘What are my superpowers?’ I wanted to lean into my strengths in a way I never completely had before, to make a big guitar album with some epic performances and really sing my ass off,” she says. “I ended up pouring so much emotion into all the songs, and I hope they help people feel fired up and ready to take on anything that comes their way. I’d love for this record to be somebody’s jet fuel.”