King Solomon Hicks

"That was my mission of this album: To really set these songs up so that they have a life of their own," says Samantha Fish about Kill or Be Kind, her sixth solo album and her debut on Rounder Records. "Strong messages from the heart -- that's what I really set out for." Indeed, what comes across immediately on hearing the album is the extraordinary level of songcraft on its eleven tracks, the way these songs are so smartly put together to deliver a potent emotional impact. Anyone who has ever heard Fish's previous albums knows that she has earned a place in the top rank of contemporary blues guitarists and that her voice can wring the soul out of a ballad and belt out a rocker with roof-shaking force. And, rest reassured, those virtues are fully in evidence on Kill or Be Kind.