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The debut album by Sam and Yuri shocked me. Let me recount a story for you that led me to hear this phenomenal band. It’s short, I promise. On April 23 of 09 I picked up my sister Skye’s car, she had an appointment to get the oil changed and her snow tires changed for the season. Upon getting into her car I was mildly dismayed to learn that I had left my iPod and all of my CD’s in my own car which she was using to get to work, so I ejected the disc in her CD player to see what she had been listening to. No name on the disc and artwork that I didn’t recognize gave me no indication as to what band or artist it was so I sighed and popped it in figuring that something was better than nothing, even if my sister and I don’t always agree on the music that we listen to. As soon as the first track of the record “The Never Ending Story” started to play I was amazed. Two tracks in I called my sister to ask her who the band was and she replied that it was a co-worker of hers Yuri. I was shocked. Beyond that I was already turning the gears in my head… step 1: myspace them, step 2: beg and please for an interview with them, this is a band that I knew I absolutely had to pass on to you readers.

But let’s get to the record shall we? Sam and Yuri have a style and maturity to their music that is hard to find in new bands. Comparing it to anything would bastardize the integrity of the music, and yet I have no other words to describe to you how they sound except to compare it to a modernization of a 70’s folk band. While most of you readers may not immediately associate this with a specific sound, the older end of the spectrum will conjure thoughts of Simon and Garfunkel, Peter Paul and Mary… etc. Rich in harmony and simple but beautiful in melody, Sam and Yuri accomplish with their first record what many bands take four or five to accomplish; a real sense of themselves and a confidence that comes across in a beautiful record start to finish.

I would highly suggest the entire album to anyone who asks, but my favourite tracks on the record would likely be “The Never Ending Story”, “On The Bed Of My Mother”, and “Alaska”, three songs that in the past five hours have each hit triple-digit plays on my iTunes.

Drip and Bleed is available on Bullmoose.com for $9.97 or on a track-by-track basis on their website samandyuri.com, I also highly suggest stopping by their MySpace Page and poking around there. If you are in the Bangor Maine area you should definitely check for shows near you and go show your support for this phenomenal band.