On her long-awaited debut album, Showing Up, the former Friends-frontwoman Samantha Urbani goes out to bat for her beliefs, and pours a decade of tumult and personal growth into the sort of irresistibly loose-limbed, retro-leaning alt-pop that has always been her specialty. It’s Urbani’s innate ability to hit the sweet spot between heady pop melodies and unfettered experimentation that makes Showing Up such a compelling collection, from the celestial disco shimmer of ‘Isolation’ and ‘Guiding Star’ to the Jam and Lewis stylings of ‘c u clear’ and the Santigold-esque funk-pop of ‘Time Keeps Slipping’. With shades of Rapture-era Blondie meets LCD Soundsystem, ‘One Day At A Time’ features louche slap bass and sliding Talking Heads-esque synths whilst ‘Evidence’, powered by gated drums, is 80s new wave/freestyle by way of Miami Sound Machine/Lisa Lisa/Nu Shooz.Co-produced by Samantha with Nick Weiss (Nightfeelings), the album is in keeping with Urbani’s predilection for spontaneity, with an organic approach to collaboration and contributions from close friends including Eric Cross, John Caroll Kirby, Rostam Batmanglij, Molly Lewis and Sasha Desree, as well as Sade’s right-hand man Stuart Matthewman. Showing Up is a deeply uplifting record – created on Urbani’s own terms – and one that’s testament to the spirit of survival. And as overdue as its release might feel for fans, Samantha firmly believes Showing Up couldn’t have arrived a single second sooner.
