Johanna Samuels Shares Single & Video

Johanna Samuels today shares a new single and video, “Full Story” featuring Jordan Lehning. Pulled from her forthcoming studio album, Sorry, Kid is due out August 14 via Odd Man Out Recordings and Jealous Butcher, and includes singles “White Limousine”(feat. Courtney Marie Andrews), “Two People and the Moon”, “Circles” (feat. Tyler Ballgame) and “Blue vs. Pinkerton”.

Recorded to tape and produced by Jonathan Rado (Weyes Blood, Father John Misty, The Killers), the warm, sepia-toned tracks of Sorry, Kid are peppered throughout with features from Samuels’s LA music community: Madison Cunningham, Courtney Marie Andrews, Tyler Ballgame & many more.

Featuring Brian Wilson-inspired harmonies and flourishes of omnichord, “Full Story” wrestles with self-respect and the limits of other people’s narratives

“I didn’t know what this song was about when I wrote it. I just liked it,” shares Samuels. “When I listened back to the mixes this past year it all was so clear. I both love and hate when my songs predict my own future. In retrospect it’s about self respect and knowing that what people may say or think about you doesn’t matter as long as I try my best to understand both sides and know the full story with accountability, an open heart and grounded mind.

I’ve lived much of my life deeply worried about what others think of me and one of the personal changes I’ve witnessed since starting this record in 2023 is that I know myself better. I’m stronger. Having an open honest heart doesn’t make you not strong and I’m not ashamed to say that I’m strong anymore. I wish I didn’t care at all what anyone thinks – nobody’s perfect… but I certainly care less. I’m in charge of my side of the street and I do my very best to keep it clean.”

Watch the video for “Full Story” HERE

Picking up nods from Rolling Stone, Stereogum, FLOOD Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, Under The Radar, Northern Transmissions and more, Johanna Samuels’ Sorry, Kid felt like a message to her younger self. Part apology, but also an acknowledgment that maturity means recognizing what you couldn’t see at the time. The album ends a chapter that began nearly two decades ago, gathering songs from as early as 2007 alongside newer work shaped by hard-earned clarity. Reflecting on the finished record, Samuels says, “I think about how much has changed since I wrote these songs, and I know that releasing them will finally close the stitch on a chapter of my life that taught me so much.”

Recorded to tape with a live band feel with producer Jonathan Rado, the foundation of Sorry, Kid was built almost entirely by two people trading ideas in a room. Rado handled drums while Samuels played piano, acoustic guitar, and wurlitzer for live takes. Rado would then build the tracks out with bass, keys, and fuzzy electric guitars while the palette leans on classic gear like Moog and Juno synths, harmonium and Philip Krohnengold’s mellotron flourishes. The result is intimate and alive. “Rado and I share a very similar musical palette, and because we were already pals, it felt easy and natural,” Samuels recalls.

After a year of urgent health challenges and relentless touring, vocal sessions and additional production were completed with Patrick Damphier (Aaron Lee Tasjan, The Mynabirds, The Arcs) at New Monkey Studio, once home to Elliott Smith, whose melodic sensibility had long served as a quiet compass for Samuels. “Recording there felt surreal. His music has been a true north for me for more than half my life,” she says. “Singing through his Neumann mic felt full circle, like I was meant to wait that long.”

Sorry, Kid never feels brittle. There’s humor in its edges and steadiness in its performances. You can hear the tape hiss, the room and the breaths between lines. The record trusts that imperfection can hold weight.

“If these songs began as questions, they arrived as resolutions rather than answers,” she says. When the circles meet, Johanna Samuels sounds like an artist who’s made peace.

With her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics, Samuels’ songwriting has captivated audiences with her unique blend of folk and indie rock across 2024’s Bystander and 2021’s Excelsior!. Samuels’ music tells stories of love, loss, and self-discovery, resonating with listeners on a deep emotional level. She recently featured on the new Al Nicol track “You and Me”, available on all platforms here.

Johanna Samuels will play headline shows live in Los Angeles at Zebulon on August 15, and in New York City at Union Pool on August 25, as well as a Kingston, NY show supporting Mikaela Davis.

Sorry, Kid is due out on August 14 via Odd Man Out Recordings.

Pre-save the album here | Bandcamp pre-save here

Tour Dates
8/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
8/25 – New York City, NY @ Union Pool
9/4 – Kingston, NY @ Assembly*
9/10 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom*
9/11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Bottlerocket Social Hall*
9/12 – Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall*
9/13 – Toronto, ON @ Monarch Tavern*
9/15 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz*
9/16 – Burlington, VT @ Foam Brewers*
9/17 – Manchester, VT @ Billsville House Concerts*
9/18 – Portsmouth, NH @ The Press Room*
9/19 – Albany, NY @ Lark Hall*

*with Mikaela Davis

Album artwork & tracklist