Samantha Fish : Paper Doll Review

By Steven Miller

After the raucous triumph of Death Wish Blues (2023), which earned her a Grammy nod and solidified her place among today’s blues-rock elite, Fish returns with an album filled with her gift for songwriting. Produced by Detroit garage-rock icon Bobby Harlow and released via Rounder Records, Paper Doll has layers of sonic framework to reveal Fish’s truest weapon: her voice. Yes, her guitar still snarls and struts. But it’s her vocal performance that is attention-grabbing in its elastic, expressive, and electric character that drives this record straight into the hearts of modern blues, Americana, and roots rock fans.

The opening track. “I’m Done Runnin’” wastes no time announcing Fish’s vocal intention. Her voice is equal parts velvet and gravel as she projects the melody with confident, assertive, and emotionally awake clarity. She bends her phrasing with precision and control. There’s polish here, but it never sandpapers away the rawness.

“Can Ya Handle The Heat?” is where Fish throws her hips into the vocal phrasing. Sassy, flirty, and delightfully unbothered, she paces the groove with precision. Her enunciation hits like her attitude incarnate, from quick vibrato flicks to fierce consonants; Fish’s phrasing rides the beat. She’s teasing, daring, daring you not to sing along.

“Lose You” lets structure and contrast carry the weight of the song. Fish’s vibrato is less an ornament than a vehicle of truth for specific notes. She phrases the lines with just enough air to suggest what’s left unsaid. This is the kind of performance that builds emotional impact.

“Sweet Southern Sounds” is a smooth, soulful, and unhurried rock-blues; Fish delivers this track with impressive character on guitar and voice. Her voice has a lived-in texture as there’s a blues-inflected warmth here that touches traditional blues, not in style but in spirit.

“Off In The Blue” is a rock ballad that reveals a softer shade of Fish, both vocally and emotionally. Her head voice floats in with a round, pillowy, controlled. She elongates vowels, phrasing with a painter’s touch. It’s a haunting, ethereal performance that shows technical finesse without ever sounding clinical.

“Fortune Teller” is Fish playing with deliberate mystery to create a beautiful, dark, and mesmerizing groove. Fish drops her tone low and slow, letting the lyric pull like a slow-burning fuse. The phrasing is deliberate, even ritualistic, conjuring mood and myth. She invites the listener in by drawing the energy inward.

Fish lets loose in “Rusty Razor” as she matches the track’s punk-blues fervor with punchy, snarling vocals that bounce off the walls with the added grit from Collins’ vocals. Her phrasing chops the lines into rhythmic jabs, all while maintaining tonal integrity. It’s gritty, wild, and technically demanding — and she makes it sound effortless.

“Paper Doll” reflects the smart production choices on the album as Fish sings with teeth bared, her voice cutting in a tutti figure with the guitar. She belts with conviction but never overreaches; there’s just enough rasp to rough up the edges while staying in control: powerful, precise, unafraid.

“Don’t Say It” closes out the album, and Fish eases into a more relaxed register. There’s a breezy tilt to her phrasing, a conversational ease that masks the frustration bubbling beneath the lyrics. The American vibe is a fitting end statement.

Across these nine tracks, Fish displays an expansive dynamic range, from spoken whispers to commanding belts. Her phrasing evolves from track to track, adapting to each song’s emotional terrain without losing the thread of her identity. She blends blues grit, rock bravado, soul warmth, and punk urgency into a cohesive vocal fingerprint that is distinctly her own.

What’s especially notable is her emotional agility. She doesn’t just sing the songs; she inhabits them. Her voice brings the song’s story, stance, and soul.

Paper Doll is Samantha Fish’s continuing her journey as a musical storyteller first and shredder second. In doing so, she delivers a vocal character, control, and conviction that yields a very enjoyable blues-rock record. Fish has never sounded more fearless. Or more fully herself.