SAMANTHA MARTIN + DELTA SUGAR will launch their magnificent live album, “A Beautiful Buzz” via Gypsy Soul Records on May 22nd 2026.
Get the album here:
Recorded during the band’s “Love Is All Around” tour across Western Canada in 2022, this fresh live release captures the potent raw energy, the soulful depth, and the collective spirit that define this troupe of master-musicians and pinpoint Delta Sugar as being one of Canada’s most thrilling live musical entertainments.
We’ve described the song-voice of powerhouse Canadian singer-songwriter, arranger-bandleader and two-time JUNO Award nominee and seven-time Canadian Blues Award nominee (Female Vocalist of the Year) SAMANTHA MARTIN “Peppery-velvet as Etta James: rich, velvety, creamy…”
We had an early listen to the album:
The headline song, “Love is All Around,” offers a leisurely experience with gentle beats and a chill-on-chill vibe. Samantha’s vocals are woven into the fabric of the piece with a spirited guitar accompaniment and super-sharp drumming.
Buddy Miles’s soul-rock masterpiece “Them Changes,” becomes an iconic representation of late 1960s funk-rock, characterized by a set of captivating rhythm, oodles of intense feeling, and an undeniable sense of compelling momentum.
“My Crown,” a track originally on the album “What a Beautiful Buzz,” is a spirited tribute to hardworking musicians facing hardship. Thus, it’s a deeply emotional, foot-tapping number that features some of Samantha’s most powerful vocals, as her highs soar over a sophisticated, groovy-hearted rhythm section. The fever is pitched, and the piece becomes a shoosh of deepest emotion, as the passion hits the target, dead-accurate, with Samantha’s incredibly moving and amazingly capacious lung-power!
‘Pass Me By’ delivers a blast of pure enjoyment, characterized by some powerfully squishy rhythms, a radiant and lucid vocals from Samantha; and a hurtling pace that echoes Otis Redding’s 1965 b-side hit, ‘I Can’t Turn You Loose.’ Samantha’s voice can easily climb higher (and harder) than the horns and the drums on this feast! Incredible!
“The Shape I’m In” (featuring the Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist Steve Marriner) has that hand-clapping rhythmicity that makes an audience want to smile and joyfully sing along. Samantha’s voice has a deep syrupy quality, akin to sandpaper splotched with molasses, or as gooey as hair gel, but sweetened with honeyed hooch. Fantastic!
Prepare to be captivated by the soaring musical energy, intense atmosphere, and incredible vocal talent on this must-have live album!
The CD and limited-edition gate-fold double vinyl editions of the album are available via www.samanthamartinmusic.com/store with the digital edition available on all streaming platforms HERE.
Words: © Neil Mach
Main photo: © Paul Wright
RAW RAMP 