Samia Emerges With Emotional Heavyweight Track “Kill Her Freak Out,” Announces New Album Honey

Samia, the twenty-five year old whose debut album The Baby landed on NPR and Paste’s year-end lists in 2020, is back with “Kill Her Freak Out,” the first single of her upcoming album Honey. The newly announced project is set to kick off the new year—it’s dropping January 27, 2023. 

“Kill Her Freak Out” appropriately heralds in a new era for Samia—“it sort of marks the end of The Baby’s story,” she says. It’s also a gutsy first single (and track one of the album). Sparsely produced with only synths reminiscent of a church organ, Samia sings what feels like a death march for a failed relationship. “Can I tell you something? I’ve never felt so unworthy of loving,” she admits in the chorus. 

In the verses, stories that involve a lost passport and worship songs on an iPod are woven together as details in the fabric of a larger emotional truth. The video, featuring Academy Award nominee Lucas Hedges and co-directed by Samia and Muriel Margaret, echoes the tension between the mundane anecdotes and the catharsis that comes with admitting how impactful they truly were. 

The full project, recorded at Amelia Meath and Nick Sandborn of Sylvan Esso’s studio in North Carolina, promises to be a “community record,” in Samia’s own words- “telling stories, making amends, trying to show people I love them.” One of The Baby’s producers Caleb Wright returned to produce most of the project, and indie pop phenom Rostam has a production credit on “Mad at Me,” the fourth track on Honey. Samia’s friends Christian Lee Hutson, Briston Maroney, Jake Luppen, and Raffaella all make appearances as collaborators.

Before the official release, Samia will continue sharing selections from the new album as she embarks on an ambitious touring schedule this fall. After appearances at Austin City Limits Festival in October and Pitchfork Music Festival in London in November, she is set to support Maggie Rogers on her European tour. Samia will then embark as a headliner after Honey’s release next year, beginning with a set at Asheville’s Orange Peel and closing out in Music City with Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl. 

You can watch the video for “Kill Her Freak Out” below. Honey is out January 27.