Sam Lyon - 'Until The Night Is Over'

Sometimes a touch of class is all you need.

I count myself lucky enough to have seen Sam Lyon perform in many different platforms; be it her own show, part of an open mic set up or part of a drunken musical pile-up as part of a mutual friends leaving do. She is the kind of artist that conducts herself with an untouchable air of professionalism that post-student scum like me can only dream of possessing. She plays her ambitious, heartbreaking modern folk songs with an ease that, despite her phenomenal work ethic, makes you think that this is a talent somebody is only born with.

Each song she has bristles with its own unique influences, from the London Grammar-esque post rock of ‘Constellations’ to the bubblegum country fun of ‘Stupid Girl’. So we know what Sam can do and what she's capable of, right? Do we fuck. Because ‘Until the Night is Over’ has the potential to catapult her to the next level, if not commercially (it's a cruel world) then it definitely provides an ever increasing gap between where her talent is now and where it could soar to.

Not an acoustic guitar in sight, (after starting that way as one of her oldest songs) Sam employs an orchestra and a choir, making ‘Until the Night is Over’ her most ambitious song yet - despite the simplicity and innocence of the original composition. The fragility of the song itself compliments the grandiosity of the arrangement and really makes it an intriguing listen. If the initial listen to the song doesn't wow you, the video will. The concept is simple; Sam and her musicians are simply stood together in a cathedral but everything about it just screams star quality. You can see exactly what the song means just by watching her sing it, you hardly even need to hear the song itself. But of course you do.

In this song, Sam's voice is the leading role- strong and subtle (behave, 2017 politics fans- I said subtle), with a depth to it that makes her sound well beyond her years. It swells just beyond the instrumentation and acts as the conductor rather than an individual instrument. When her voice rises, the intensity of the song rises and when it softens, everything does. Sure, that's probably practised. Musicians as good as the ones in the video know what they're doing. But when you listen to the song, its all about Sam. The fact that this song was released as a birthday present to her Dad makes it even more easy to love. You might not hear a song like this come from Sam Lyon again. But whatever you hear next, you can be sure that it will be just as ambitious, just as heartfelt and just as beautiful.

Words of James Kitchen