Sammy Kay
“A Couple Cardinals”
Carrying on the grand tradition of working-class New Jersey troubadours and the even grander tradition of Jersey punks who’ve turned folk, Sammy Kay‘s EP Inanna is big on story and melody. It’s also exceedingly intimate. The EP is just Kay, Americana wunderkind John Calvin Abney, and Cory Tramontelli in a hushed atmosphere.
“A Couple Cardinals,” tells a familiar story of nostalgia, ancestor worship, and soft-hearted grief. The three artists recorded their tracks to tape, which created some fortuitous moments: if you listen closely, you can hear children running and playing as school ends for the day among the ghosts in “A Couple Cardinals.” The EP is a collection of 12 to 16-line sonnets, available to stream everywhere now. — Rachel Cholst