Produced by Lorrie Matheson (Rebels United), Calgary’s Samantha Savage Smith has unveiled a striking debut in Tough Cookie. My guess would have been that compositions such as Keep It In A Box and the title track were not only sung but penned by a ‘50s jazz chanteuse, so this is not your typical Albertan. Creeping up on you and slinking into your bed (you really won’t mind) is The Fight, while Ladybird could easily fit into your iTunes playlist between Feist and Lykki Li. Things get raw and dangerous on Nobody Loves Me But My Own Kind and What I’ve Tasted, proving that this lady does not want to be pegged down stylistically. As appropriate for a late-night rendezvous as for a day at the beach, Tough Cookie is worth more than a few nibbles.

Published in Volume 66, Number 1 of The Uniter (September 2, 2011)